Canterwood Crest: A New Beginning
by mythicalunicorns20
Summary: A fun Canterwood Crest series about Ophelia Aimery. Can she handle being the new girl at such a prestigious boarding school? Will she crack under pressure? Can she stand the mean girls? You find out! A little drama, a little romance. This is an original story with characters from my own imagination. This is my first fanfic, so please be patient! I'd love it if you left a review.
1. Chapter 1- Moving In

**Chapter 1- Moving In**

I stared out the window of my parents' black SUV wondering if I made the right choice. I should've been happy I got into one of the most prestigious boarding schools in the country, but as I looked out the window I wasn't so sure. What if I wasn't good enough? What if I didn't fit in? I had hated being the new kid when I went to middle school in the town outside of Healdsburg. This was in an entirely different school district, not to mention state!

"You doing okay, Ophelia?" My mom asked.

"Yeah," I replied, "Just nervous."

"Hey, Kiddo. You'll be fine. You've always done well in school and I'm sure you'll make friends." My dad was trying to comfort me, but he just reminded me about the schoolwork.

The schoolwork at Canterwood was supposed to be extremely difficult. I was a straight "A" student back at home, but this was another level. The mountain of work I had to do over the summer was huge. Not to mention the six books I had to read! I wasn't sure if I was up to 7th grade Canterwood-Style.

"And besides, you'll be awesome on Beethoven and you'll rock vaulting."

Well, that helped. I got to ride my horse Beethoven! My actual horse. _My _horse. My beautiful dark bay Arabian who loves cross-country almost as much as I do. Almost. The only downside was that I couldn't vault on him. He totally freaks out when I try! I usually just practiced by vaulting skills on my old stables' vaulting horse.

"Omigod. Omigod!" I screeched as my dad pulled the car into the Canterwood parking lot. The campus was... _beautiful._ There were huge brick buildings and pathways surrounded by lush grass and pretty landscaping. The stables were off in the distance and I could see an indoor arena. My old stables only had a small outdoor arena. This place was awesome.

"Let's unload Beethoven." My mom reminded me. I had almost forgot about the trailer being pulled behind our car. Almost.

I smiled and jumped out of the car and ran to see my horse. I could see my parents start unloading the car.

"Hello, big guy." I unlatched the trailer door and led Beethoven out. He nuzzled me for a second then took off at a brisk walk toward the campus. I laughed. He must be as excited to settle in as I was.

"He really wants to get out. I'll put him by the stables and meet you in the dorm." I told my parents before letting Beethoven drag me down to his new home. It took a while to walk all the way to the area by the arenas, but the walk was totally worth it. Each stall by itself was huge! There were wooden walls and wrought iron fence situations to make everything look fancy. It totally worked.

"And you're new?" I swiveled my head toward the voice. "Uh yeah." I stupidly replied and bit my lip.

"I'm Olivia Reynolds. And you are?" The girl had short brown curls and a goofy grin. She wore dusty black leggings and a pink graphic t-shirt. How funny.

"I'm Ophelia. This is Beethoven." I smiled at her.

"Oh. I like that name. It's like my name but... Greek?"

"Sounds about right." I smiled. She seemed like a nice girl. At least I already had one ally.

"Oh look! The stall next to Sequin's stall says Beethoven in the nameplate. Could it be his?" Olivia motioned to a stall almost identical to her horse's. My horse could canter in that stall. It was bigger than any I'd ever seen.

"Thank you, but I really have to get to my dorm room. I'll see you around?"

"Sure. Good luck at tryouts, by the way." Oh no. I had forgotten about tryouts, but I thanked her anyways. I was nervous that I wouldn't make the intermediate team. It would be embarrassing to be one of the only 7th graders on the beginner team. I knew it would be hard to keep up with school and riding _and _vaulting, but I would make it work. I had to prove to myself that I could do this even if I didn't think I could.

When I got to my dorm I noticed that my dorm mate had a pretty blue theme already set up in her half of the room. She had white sheets, sky blue pillows, and a super fringy duvet cover that would come in handy when it snowed. She had also installed a mini fridge and had a few wall decorations. Everything would go perfectly with my yellow and white theme! It was nice to know we were both fashionistas.

My parents helped me unpack before heading back home. It was a long drive back and I couldn't blame them. We had come all the way from California. I started reading a magazine I found on my roommate's coffee table seconds before I heard the jangle of keys and the opening of a door. I saw a girl with long blonde hair standing in the doorway with an older looking redhead behind her.

"Cassidy Scott...? I questioned the blonde girl. She smiled and nodded.

"Ophelia Aimery?" I nodded in return and I asked about the redhead.

"I should have introduced myself earlier. I'm Madison and I'm the dorm monitor for the Crescent dorm building. I just came by to go over all of the rules and everything."

There were an impressive amount of rules, but the most important were lights out by ten, no boys allowed, and ask before you use the community dorm kitchen. At least those were the ones I remembered. After what felt like forever, Madison finally left. Cassidy and I sat staring at each other for a minute before we both burst into giggles at the same time.

"Do you do any sports here?" Cassidy asked me. I prepared myself for the "Equestrian isn't a sport comment", but it never came.

"I ride too! I have a Welsh pony named Milan." Now that I looked at the girl, she was pretty small. About my size and I'm only five feet tall.

"I also vault." She thought it was gutsy to do both riding and vaulting and I agreed! I had no idea how I was going to pull this off.

We talked about school and riding and our hobbies, obsessions, and other über girly things. It turns out that, unlike me, Cassidy had a younger brother. I am lucky I don't have siblings. Then we came upon the topic of boys.

"Oh no. I promised myself I wouldn't worry myself with such silly things. I've never liked anyone and I have zero interest in dating."

"Oh. Come. On." Cassidy whined. "You'll fall for somebody by the end of the year. Mark my words." I giggled, but knew there was zero chance whatsoever.


	2. Chapter 2- Easy, right?

**Chapter 2- Easy, right?**

My alarm clock blared in my ear and I groaned. Why were tryouts so _early_? This shouldn't be legal. Cassidy stirred in the bed next to mine. The alarm clock stated that it was 5:10 in the morning. I had just enough time to get ready for my test. We took turns changing in the bathroom and we put on our riding uniforms. I loved my purple eggplant breeches and I wore my favorite black tee.

"See you in English!" I yelled over my shoulder while walking/running toward the stables. We had exchanged our schedules and we unfortunately only had lunch and English together.

I checked my phone after I tacked Beethoven up in his black saddle, pad, and polo wraps. And it was only 6:00. Ten minutes to warm up.

I met the instructor in the outdoor arena already to go.

"Hello. I am Mr. Davis and you are going to be evaluated along with all of the other riders this week. We will place you all either in Beginner, Intermediate, or Advanced riding groups. Please note that there are limited spots in the Intermediate and Advanced groups."

I shivered. I would practically be competing to be on the intermediate team. I just need to focus to do my best. That's all that matters.

"I'm going to yell out a command and continue that command until I say otherwise. Okay, walk."

I began walking around the arena making sure I had my head up, heels down. I planted by butt in my seat when Mr. Davis told us to trot. I posted and made extra sure I was in the correct diagonal. I couldn't make beginner mistakes today.

"Please pick up the canter and when you're ready, I want you to show me a flying lead change."

I cued Beethoven to canter and I knew we looked seamless. We cantered to the corner of the arena and across the diagonal before I asked him to change his lead. I squeezed slightly and slid my foot back a smidge. I could feel his weight shift below me as we were suspended in the air for a fraction of the second. Mr. Davis never told us to stop, so I kept it up until he told me to take a break while he set up a jump course.

"We got this, boy." I whispered to Beethoven. "The jumps aren't too high. They're probably about three feet. We got this."

"Ophelia, first the green vertical over to the faux water jump. From there you will go to the triple on to the red vertical. Your last jump will be the slightly higher vertical. You got that?"

I nodded and he nodded back. I picked up the trot, and I circled around before easing into my canter. We headed toward the first vertical and I slowed Beethoven's stride slightly. We easily cleared the jump and I kept myself slightly above his back as we cantered to the faux water obstacle. Even though there was no water in it, Beethoven still hesitated.

I cooed to him and we pulled ourselves together as we soared over the jump and Beethoven careful not to touch anything. We made a tight turn toward the triple. I counted the strides... three... two... one... I leaned toward Beethoven's neck and righted myself. One... two... strides and we were over. We cleared the last jump in the combination and I patted Beethoven's neck.

"Good boy!" I praised him. He was so getting carrots after this. As we cantered toward the last jump, Beethoven asked for his head. I loosened my grip slightly and he picked up the pace turning a two stride into a one. My heartbeat quickened. I knew we had jumped much higher, but I was still worried. I half halted slightly and gathered up the reins. This time, he slowed his canter just in time to gracefully clear the vertical by at least seven inches.

I smiled and patted Beethoven's neck. I definitely saw some carrots in his future. I pulled Beethoven into a walk and parked in front of Mr. Davis. He smiled, too.

"Not too bad, Aimery. How is the flat work coming?" My smile widened. I liked dressage almost as much as I liked cross-country. Almost.

"Not too shabby." He was decently good at dressage, but had only picked up on it near the beginning of summer. I had worked hard with him and I think we would do all right.

"I think Beethoven and you are perfect for each other. You nicely balance out. I'll let you know where I place you." I thanked Mr. Davis. Beethoven and I had only been together for two years, but it seemed like more. Beethoven was also somewhat green at only six years old. Everything was a fun adventure with him. I cooled him down and let him back into his stall before feeding him a carrot.

I pulled my phone out of my locker by Beethoven's stall and texted Cassidy. It was seven in the morning and I only had an hour before class started. Cassidy responded almost immediately.

_Ophelia- Cas, finished! Can u bring food up 2 room?_

_Cassidy- Kk. I take test after class- tell u how it goes. I get oatmeal._

It was more of a statement than a question, so I didn't tell her I would rather something else. I ran back to the Crescent building and took a shower as quickly as possible. I let my naturally wavy brown hair scrunch up as I put on the outfit I had picked the night before. It was a super cute blue paisley skirt with a loose white shirt I tucked in. I wore gold hoop earrings and golden ballet flats. I added minimal amounts of makeup and I would be ready after I ate breakfast.

Cassidy arrived just as I finished putting on a think layer of shimmery pink lip-gloss. She smiles and waved two bowls of oatmeal in my face. She stuck a spoon in each other them and handed one to me. As we ate as quickly as possible, we put everything we would need in our backpacks before leaving the dorm room and setting the empty bowls in the sink of the communal dorm kitchen.

"We'll clean those up later, right?" I asked Cassidy, but she only shook her head and rolled her eyes. "Yeah… we'll think about it."

I chuckled and we hurried to English class. We got to class a few minutes early, thank god, and we were able to get seats next to each other in the middle of the classroom.

"I'll see you at lunch, right?" I asked Cassidy. She raised her eyebrows and mouthed "duh" just as the bell rang and class started.

English wasn't as hard as I expected it to be. We deconstructed a few sentences before our teacher handed out a pop quiz on our summer homework. Almost everybody groaned, but we knew the test was going to be easy. At least I did. The English homework had been über-easy for me.

The rest of the day went fine. I think I did okay in Science class and Algebra wasn't as easy as it could have been, but I hadn't royally screwed up yet. At lunch I sat with Cassidy and her friend Elise. I think we all got along just fine.

I had a few classes after lunch, but they all went by in a blur because I was super excited to go to my film elective as my last period. I heard it was über-easy. All we did was watch movies and write screenplays.

"Alright, class. My name is Mr. Baker and I teach the film elective. Now despite what you may have heard, we do not just watch movies and write screenplays. We partake in the art of film. Movies can take you places you've never been." Well… okay then.

The boy to my right snickered and Elise full out laughed. I nudged Elise with my right elbow and she pulled herself together pretty quickly. Mr. Baker shot a dirty look in my direction. Great to know we're getting off on the right foot.

"Today, we are going to be watching _The Hunger Games. _I think you all will enjoy it. It has a great show of special effects."

With that, the lights turned down. When the movie started, I threw Elise another look before turning to the boy.

"What was that?" I whispered. "You two got me in trouble!" He smirked. "Sorry to ruin your perfect reputation at this school." A beat. "Wait, you're new, aren't you?"

"Yes, I'm new. Can we not ruin my nonexistent reputation though?" He snickered again. I rolled my eyes and turned back toward the screen. The main character just got enrolled into the messed up death system or whatever. What's her name again? Catnip? Candice?

I wasn't in a very good mood for the rest of the day, but I tried to hide it. As I did my homework I thought about making the Intermediate team. Wouldn't that be nice? All I could do was hope.


	3. Chapter 3- Getting the News

**Chapter 3- Getting the News**

Today went by almost exactly like yesterday, but I didn't have to wake up at the crack of dawn. In literature we started reading _Gone With the Wind_, which I already love. Scarlett is going to be almost exactly like her dad, I can tell. She kind of reminds me of Elise, they both have some attitude and they both are _extremely_ likable even though they can be brats. Don't tell Elise I said that. She's okay and I can get along with her, but we were not made to be best friends.

At lunch, Elise practically cried because they were out of balsamic vinaigrette and she refused to put any other dressing on her salad. She ate her salad plain. Seriously, pull it together. I'm just glad she's not a rider. I couldn't deal with her in school and at the stables.

As I sit in Mr. Davis' office with a bunch of other equestrians, Cassidy sees me; she walks in and sits in a foldable chair next to mine.

"I'm very nervous! I was in beginner last year, so I think I have a good shot at one of the three intermediate spots. Don't you?" I smiled. She was as nervous as I was.

"Okay, ladies and gentlemen. May I please have your attention?" Everyone immediately stopped talking and swiveled their eyes toward Mr. Davis. "I know you're all waiting, so I'll do my best to get the news to you as soon as possible."

The girl I recognized as Olivia raised her hand and Mr. Davis pointed at her. "Do you know if we'll be able to use kneepads? It sucks when you fall off and skin your knees." Everybody in the room laughed, but Olivia looked dead serious. The poor girl didn't even seem to care people were snickering behind her back. I didn't even crack a smile.

"Um Olivia, I don't see why not. As long as it doesn't interfere with your riding." Olivia nodded über-seriously and began to fidget with the drawstring on her breeches. "As I was saying, I'll try to get the news to you as fast as possible. I just want you all to know that you all are very talented young men and women and you all deserve whatever you set your mind to, however, there were only three intermediate level spots and two advanced."

I sat on the edge of my seat. He couldn't talk anymore. He had to tell us now, right?

"The three people taking spots on the intermediate team are Cassidy Scott, Olivia Reynolds, and Ophelia Aimery. Congratulations-"

The whole world began to spin. I smiled and I knew Cassidy was tugging my arm happily and squealing in my ear. "We did it!" I could hear her screech. My smile broadened. I couldn't believe I did it!

"-and to all of my other riders, you are welcome to join the beginning team."

"Do you know who else is on our team?" Cassidy looked excited and almost nervous. I smiled and shook my head. I had absolutely no idea. I literally only knew four people at Canterwood.

"Intermediate group, you have lessons everyday after school at five o'clock. I'll see you all then."

I took Cassidy's hand and we went to go back to our dorms to get ready for our lesson in an hour. I pulled out my charcoal colored breaches and a maroon tee. I also wiped off my makeup so it didn't run when I sweat during riding and vaulting. I had gotten an email from the CC vaulting team and we would be having meetings every morning at five thirty. I wasn't looking forward to waking up so early, but I would manage.

Once Cassidy and I were ready, we went down to the stable together and clipped Milan and Beethoven in crossties next to each other as we groomed. Beethoven was already sparkly and shiny from when Doug and Mike, the stable hands, cleaned him earlier that morning. I was determined to make him look even better.

Just as I started picking out Beethoven's hooves, my phone chimed. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and stared at the text I received.

"Oh. My. God." I can't peel my eyes off of my phone. Cassidy looks up from brushing her own pony and looks over at me. She furrows her eyebrows and looks concerned.

"Um are you okay?" Cassidy set down her currycomb and slowly walked over to me. She peered at my phone. "Oh my god."

_To Olivia- Heeey. It's Olivia. Can I join u 2 by the crossties? Seems fun._

"Ophelia, how did that creep get your number?" I pinched Cassidy's arm and whispered into her ear. "That creep is probably a few stalls down grooming her horse. You don't live in a soundproof box!" Cassidy rolled her eyes.

"Um, Olivia?" I said half-talking half-shouting. "You there?" I see a head pop up in a stall not to far from where we were grooming.

"Ophelia! You got my text! Well, obviously. You girls were just talking about it! Can I join you?" Cassidy shot me a look and raised her eyebrows.

"Sure. Come join us. We're just about finished grooming though. We're just going to talk up and head out." I could see Olivia's face illuminate while I talked. She looked funny in her tie-dye breeches and clashing tee, but I stand by what I told her.

"Um how did you get my phone number?" I dared to ask. She smiled at me.

"The student directories. It took a lot of snooping and maybe a small amount of stalking." Well, that explains everything!

I quickly brushed across Beethoven one more time before putting on all of his tack and quickly redoing his polo wraps. I grabbed his reins and led him out to the arena with Cassidy following close behind. I quickly mounted and so did Cassidy. I let Beethoven on a loose rein at a free walk before squeezing him slightly to trot. We make a few laps around the arena before I saw Olivia and another rider walk into the arena and mount.

"Hello everybody! I saw you three talking earlier, but I'm Ethan and this is Honey my Belgian Quarter horse mix." We all told him our names and continued to warm up. Just as I finished up my serpentines, Mr. Davis walked into the arena.

"Welcome. It has come to my attention that many CC students have forgotten something. Can anybody tell me what that is?" Olivia's hand shot up and Sequin ran into the fence. Mr. Davis cringed and pointed to her.

"We've all forgotten how to name the parts of a western saddle." Olivia said with confidence. Mr. Davis let out a nervous laugh.

"Close, but not quite. It had come to my attention that many of you have forgotten how to properly dismount in an emergency. During today's lesson I'm going to call out 'emergency dismount' at random times and you all must do as I say. From there, you may use the fence to mount your horses again. Only if needed, Cassidy." He winked.

Our lesson was a basic one. We were mostly just getting comfortable with our new teammates. We also worked on bending our horses more.

"Here, if you lightly put your riding crop on your horses behind, Ethan, you can get Honey to move her hindquarters over toward the railing."

It was impressive how much that helped Ethan. He was really struggling with Honey's massive behind… I giggled. I couldn't help it. Olivia's horse stumbled over a small cross rail and I was sure I looked sheepish. Oh well.

Once the lesson was over, the four of us cooled our horses down together, Olivia slightly behind the rest of us. I felt bad for her, but I didn't do anything.

"Where do you three live? I'm in Blackwell. It's by the tennis courts?" Ethan tried to make small talk as we all awkwardly walked our horses side by side.

"We all live in Crescent." I replied. "Cassidy is my roommate." I smiled over at Cassidy who was to the other side of me.

"Ah. You girls must have the best view of the cafeteria," Ethan joked. "My roommate is Lincoln. I think he has film with you?" Oh I remembered him.

"Oh yeah. I think I remember seeing him." I plastered on a smile hoping it didn't look too forced. I yawned. "I better head out. I need to tackle that mountain teachers like to call homework. See you all later."


	4. Chapter 4- Nailed It

**Chapter 4- Nailed it**

I stood in my vaulting shoes, leggings, and tank top before my new vaulting team. There were only three people including me. The girls' names were Eliza and Maize. Our coach seemed very nice. She was twenty-five and insisted that we call her Stephanie. I was glad she was young; she was very agile and could teach us in a very up-close and personal way.

"I'm assuming you all know the vaulting compulsories." Said Stephanie with a somewhat concerned facial expression. We all smiled and nodded. "Tell me about yourselves."

The two girls were roommates and they were both in the eighth grade. They had both competed in several high-intensity vaulting competitions and had four-minute freestyle routines they performed at the canter. This was impressive, but I was just as experienced, if not more.

We all sat around the vaulting barrel stretching and exchanging info on ourselves while Stephanie set up the vaulting barrel. When she finished she was a little red in the cheeks from hauling the protective mats.

"I was thinking that we do our group vaulting routine to "Hello" by Adele. What do you girls think?"

I smiled. Adele was like, my favorite singer ever. Besides Taylor Swift. The other girls seemed down with it, too. Stephanie played the song a few times to get the feel of it into our bodies then we got to brainstorming. Our first competition was less than a month away, I soon learned. Canterwood sure didn't wait to jump on it and put pressure on us.

"I usually started off the song at my old stable. I wouldn't mind being the first person on the horse." Stephanie nodded and we all agreed that I would be the best person to start off the song. Once I mounted the barrel, we let our imaginations fly.

"I say she mounts then stand and waves her arms in a modern dance style situations. Then she could dramatically fall back and somersault." I laughed at Eliza's suggestion and she did, too. It wasn't a bad suggestion, but we both knew it sounded ridiculous when she tried to explain it. Stephanie turned on the music and it worked. We decided to keep it.

Before we knew it, our time was up and we were all wishing we had more than an hour and a half together. I rushed back to the dorm and showered. Cassidy was awake and she had pancakes for us both waiting on our coffee table. I thanked her and we both ate quickly. I straightened my air and dressed in skinny jeans and a cute coral colored tank top. I pulled on a white knee-length cardigan in case it got windy.

While Cassidy took her time in the bathroom, I decided to take advantage of my extra time and do my makeup special for the school day. I carefully took my most prized possession off of my nightstand; my makeup case was _beautiful_. It was filled with good makeup from prestigious brands.

I applied a light coat of foundation and put on a tiny bit of highlighter to make my cheeks and nose pop. Then, I applied my luxurious sculpting mascara and shimmery pink eye shadow. I couldn't leave my precious Bobbi Brown eyeliner out of the mix, so I gave myself a small cat-eye and called it good.

I was peering at myself in the mirror when Cassidy walked out of the bathroom all ready for school.

"Oh. My. God." Cassidy stared at me with wide eyes and I immediately freaked out.

"Where's the spider?! Get it off!" I jumped around in circles slapping myself like a lunatic before Cassidy firmly informed me that there was no spider or other insects within the building. She had used extremely toxic bug repellant before I came back from vaulting. Just kidding, but she may have implied that she sprayed for bugs earlier in the week.

"What is it then?" I asked only mildly freaked out. I was looking at myself in the mirror one more time when Cassidy walked over to me.

"You look soooo pretty. C-can I touch your hair?" I laughed. I got that a lot when I straightened my hair back at home. It was such a contrast to my normally wavy and frizzy hair. "Sure." I giggled.

"It's not just your hair," Cassidy continued. "You're makeup is incredible." I smiled I loved makeup, but I usually didn't go as full-out as I did today.

"Why thank you, Mademoiselle," I said in a French accent as I held out my hand. "I believe we have a class to get to."

We grabbed our backpacks and sprinted to the English class. The teacher was pretty out of it and we just did our homework for the day in class. Nothing was too exciting. I wasn't expecting anything special in algebra either, but Elise immediately sat next to me.

"I like your makeup." She said with a small smile. I couldn't quite place it, but something was off. She's never talked to me in Algebra before. Curious.

The math teacher tried explaining some crazy theory about triangles, but I seemed to be the only person actually listening. After a lot of rambling about the angles, Elise raised her hand.

"Excuse me, but isn't there a rule about not wearing flashy makeup?" She put on an angelic smile and I immediately knew she was talking about me. She was totally like Scarlett O'Hara. Only doing what is best for her. This way, she'll be the favorite of the teachers. Pathetic.

"Hm. I suppose there is, Elise. Ophelia, I'm going to have to give you a detention. The handbook clearly states that no 'flashy' makeup can be worn during class. This includes anything other than natural looks." I put on a sweet smile as well. This must have been one of the rules I didn't hear Madison go over.

"My sincerest apologies. It will never happen again." I smiled again. Today was going to be great. I think I just made my first enemy. Yay.


	5. Chapter 5- Awkward

p class="p1"span class="s1"Lunch was emgreat./em Cassidy sat between Elise and I so we didn't tear each other into pieces. Okay, fine. So I didn't tear her into pieces. I held it together very nicely, but everything was still class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"I understood that Cassidy and Elise have been friends for a while and I was the new kid, but would Cassidy still stand by me? It was difficult to say. Cassidy seemed like the type of person who goes with the flow; the flow of the drama, but I still had faith in her. She's proved herself throughout these last few days and I'm not too worried. I bet Elise and I can work something out./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"French class was great and I love my teacher. She is the real deal French speaking lady. I'm taking French 2 and I'm already learning so much, even if it is a little awkward to be in a class with some eighth class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"As I make my way to film, Cassidy spots me in the hallway and winks at me. I wink back. Maybe I didn't have to worry after all depending on whether that was a pity-wink on an I-got-your-back-wink. I'm going with the second one./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"I wasn't late for film, but I was pretty close. There was only one spot left. Yay. I got to sit between Lincoln and Elise again. I braced myself and I plopped into the seat between them and Elise smiled her sweet, sweet smile. I smiled back. She had no idea how passive aggressive I could be./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1""So you and the math teacher are best buddies now, right?" I never left the smile leave my face as I said it./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1""Something similar to that. Canterwood teachers always appreciate honesty and obedience." My smile broadened before I make my response./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1""I feel so honored to be worthy of your presence. How does it feel to be so bratty?" This time Elise's smile faltered. Just before she fired back a response, Lincoln broke in./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1""Jesus Christ, stop it. You're both freaking me out." My smile was wiped right off my face. He shouldn't tell us what to do, but Elise stopped and sat staring straight forward at the stage. I didn't complain. Just then, the film teacher walked in. We were writing our own versions of emThe Hunger Games/em with a different genre and setting. Mr. Baker also recommended we don't use many special effects because we will also be filming the movies later on in the week./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"I was put into a group with Lincoln, Troy, and Nicole. Luckily Elise wasn't a part of our merry group. I sighed and picked a spot on the floor to start working. Lincoln sat down and whistled seconds before the others sat down./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1""What?" I mouthed at him, but he only mocked the smile I shot at Elise and shrugged. I sighed again. It was angrier this time./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1""So what setting shall it take place in?" Nicole whispered something, but we all said "What?" at the same time. She was really going to have to speak up./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1""I think she was trying to ask what setting we should make this movie in." I said confidently after a beat. Oh, I really hoped I wasn't going to become a translator for the über-shy girl./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"My group decided that we were going to do a Hunger Games situation in the 1850s. There were going to be some crazy people down in the south that kept this tradition of young men fighting to the death for the hand of a woman in marriage. I was totally against this idea, but everyone else voted against me./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"The plot is pretty self-explanatory, so I'm not going to go into crazy detail. Through out the class, Lincoln kept smirking at me whenever I looked at him trying to get an explanation from earlier. I just got angrier every time I tried to get something out of him./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"Since Nicole was very shy, we decided she would be the nice southern lady who happened to be the mother of Cathleen, the belle of the county. Surprise, surprise, I played Cathleen. Troy and Lincoln played the men who fought to the death./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1""Lincoln, you're just going to have to deal with it. I've always wanted to die on-screen, so you're going to have to live." I sighed. Damn Troy./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"We wrote out a makeshift script using some binder paper in my backpack. Nicole obviously didn't have many lines, and I didn't either. I secretly enjoyed toady's film class; I love writing and acting wasn't too horrible either. If I ever get used to CC, maybe I'll try out for the school play./span/p 


	6. Chapter 6- Excuse Me?

p class="p1"span class="s1"Lessons today were great. We practiced stadium jumping and Olivia was aem load/em better than I thought she would be. No wonder she's in intermediate. I'm sure she could manage in advanced. We practiced a four feet jump pattern with really easy turns and there were no jumps that could spook our horses. All of us laughed when Mr. Davis lowered the jumps to three and a half feet when it was Cassidy's turn./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "We're going to have to get you a bigger pony," Mr. Davis joked. "I'm sure I can get you a nice big horse for shows- if you want." All of us laughed again, and when I say all of us, Cassidy was cracking up and almost fell off while she petted Milan./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" After Cassidy and I showered and did most of our homework, we decided to go to dinner in the cafeteria. I hadn't washed off my makeup yet because what harm could it do now? I learned I would be serving my detention this Saturday at ten in the morning. Just how I wanted to spend an hour of my weekend./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" Cassidy and I grabbed our trays to sit at our usual table, but it was completely filled up already. Elise was laughing with two über-popular girls I recognized at Victoria and Juliette. I looked over at Cassidy and I could tell she was hurt./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "You good?" I asked Cassidy when she just stood in one spot./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "I'm fine. Let's go take that table over there." Cassidy pointed to the table with Eliza and Maize. I had told her how nice the two girls were and I didn't argue as we made our way toward their table./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "You mind if you sit with you?" I asked. "Our other table was taken." The two girls smiled and nodded. They were so awesome. We all talked about horses and riding and/or vaulting. It was nice to know we all shared similar interests./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "I emlove/em your makeup." Eliza suddenly blurted out. I laughed./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "So I've been told. Elise totally got me in trouble for wearing 'flashy' makeup. I have detention Saturday morning." Maize raised her eyebrows and Cassidy nodded./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "I think that may be why Elise is sitting at our table with two über-popular girls from our class." Cassidy looked sad as she said it, but I knew she would be over it by tomorrow when Elise sat with us again. Everybody here was so cliché, but they were all so nice. Elise is an exception there./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "Well," Said Maize, "You're makeup is the bomb. Who are you trying to impress?" This time I raised my eyebrows. "You know, what boy? Is it Ethan? You were talking about him at vaulting."/span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "Ew. No. And besides, I promised myself I would focus on school, riding and vaulting. I have enough on my plate already." I said all this sincerely. I wasn't going to go back on my promise now./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" I took a bite of my salad when I felt a poke on my shoulder. I turned my head fast enough in time to see Lincoln turning around. I jabbed him right back and I could see him smirk. He tossed his dark brown hair and laughed. Ugh! He was so annoying./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" I turned back to my table with a scowl on my face but Eliza and Maize were smiling. Cassidy bit her lip to keep from smiling. At least she tried./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "What?" I asked. "He's been bothering me all week and I'm sick of it." None of them looked mollified. I rolled my eyes and shook my head./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" When nobody said anything, I broke the silence. "You all are grinning like idiots and I'm sure we all have homework to do. Cassidy, come with me?" Cassidy shrugged and took up to clear her plate with me. We waved to the vaulting duo and we were off to Crescent./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" When we got to our dorm room, neither of us could find our keys. Cassidy banged on the door and I let out a whimper. That whimper turned into a sob and I was soon sitting on the floor crying with my back against the door./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "Oh my god. Are you okay?" Cassidy said looking at me with her eyes wide. Then, her voice softened. "It's just a locked door. We probably left our keys in the room. I bet Madison locked it for us." She looked at me and my sobs didn't cease. She looked kind of freaked out, but I didn't care./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"After only a few minutes people were popping their heads out of dorm rooms. I only saw one familiar head and it belonged to Olivia./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "Nothing to see here!" A beat. "Get the hell back to your dorm rooms!" I stared at Olivia in disbelief as troubled girls began closing their doors. She ran from her room a hall down and hugged me. It helped. Man, this weird girl was awesome. Olivia helped me to my feet and Cassidy grabbed my hand./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "What's going on?" I heard Madison say. She had come all the way across Crescent to assist emme. /emI must look pretty pathetic right now."What can I do to help?"/span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" I sniffled and wiped my nose with the back of my hand. "I'm fine. Just a lot has happened in these last few days. CC is tough." Madison smiled at me and helped me into my dorm room./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "You can always come to me if you ever need advice." Madison shut the door behind her. I doubt I would ever ask her for advice, but the gesture was nice anyways. Olivia went back to her dorm and left Cassidy and I staring at each other./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" I giggled. "I'm sorry. Today was just stressful. The work is hard and Elise wasn't the highlight of my day, either." Cassidy laughed, class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" We grabbed our backpacks and worked in silence until Cassidy stood up and turned on some class="Apple-converted-space" /spanTaylor Swift. She not only had good fashion sense, but an awesome taste in music as well. She pulled me to my feet and we sang into our slippers not caring who heard. We laughed and laughed until lights out. Then we curled up into our beds and reluctantly did homework until midnight. Tomorrow would be a crazy day, but it couldn't be as bad as today class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" I could hear Cassidy yawn and she turned out her class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "Good night. See you in the morning. I'll have some breakfast ready for you." I smiled and silently thanked her as I finished up my homework and turned out my own lights./span/p 


	7. Chapter 7- Perfect Weekend? Not Really

p class="p1"span class="s1"I'm wearing a ratty old hoodie and a pair of leggings. Cassidy is wearing her riding gear. You can see the contrast, right? I grab my backpack and start walking over to the classrooms. I wave at Nicole as she passes me by going to her dorm, Winchester. She waves back and continues toward her dorm leaving me alone./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" I sigh as I walk into the only open class: detention hall. I still can't believe I've ended up here already. I was hoping CC was going to be a perfect record time for me where I just didn't screw up. Oh well. I slammed my backpack onto a desk and stare at Mistress Hobbs waiting for her to say something. She never did; she just kept reading her book. I sighed and got to class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" I didn't have a whole lot of homework. I pulled my honors history out of my bag and begin memorizing the constitution. My eyes dart over the paper again and again, but none of the words seem to stick. Maybe I'd do better with English. I deconstruct a few sentences and write a poem. I take out my history and continue memorizing./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" Just as I was about to loose it, Headmistress Hobbs looks up from her book. "You may go now," I thank her silently with my eyes. "But might I tell you that we only give three detentions before suspension or even expulsion. Tread lightly." I nodded and left the office./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" At the dorm I pulled on some tan breeches and grab my Ariat riding boots. When I see Beethoven I pet him and he nuzzles me back. I tack him up and meet an already sweaty Cassidy in the indoor arena. I had to practice vaulting later; we had finished choreographing our routine, but I wanted to see Beethoven first./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" I warmed my horse up and cantered up to Cassidy. She smiled and broke into a slow gallop. I shook my head. She was going just as fast as Beethoven was and her pony was working so much harder. I laughed at the irony and Milan started full-out galloping and I had to ask Beethoven for a fast canter to keep up. By now, we were both laughing and let our horses walk./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "Want to coach each other? We can pretend being Mr. Davis. You go first?" Cassidy nodded and dismounted. She set up a few high jumps and stood by Milan./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "I want you to pick up the trot and post." I happily obliged. I loved Beethoven's smooth trot. "Cross your stirrups." Ugh. I sulkily crossed my stirrups over the twist of my saddle. I sat the trot./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "Hem, hem! Keep posting, Ophelia!" Cassidy giggled and I stuck my tongue out at her. "Pick up your canter."span class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" I began cantering and focused on my balance and leg cues. Cassidy spaced out a few poles. "Posting trot over the poles." I eased Beethoven back into a trot and tapped his side with my riding crop and he moved his ribcage toward the outside of the arena. He trotted over the poles and I petted him. "Good boy!"/span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" Cassidy had me do the jump course twice. She insisted that I try it a second time because I clipped a railing the first time around. By the end of her lesson, I was drenched in sweat. I couldn't wait to coach Cassidy./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" I ended up having her do the same thing she did to me, but I was a stickler about the basics. I lowered the jumps and constantly yelled at her to keep her heels down. By the end, we were so sweaty we had to clean our saddles./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "Next time I'm going to make you jump higher." I told Cassidy only half kidding. I guess today wouldn't completely suck after all./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" Cassidy and I walked back to our dorm in step with each other until I began to wiggle. "I have to use the bathroom," I told her. "I'll see you at our dorm." I raced to the nearest bathroom and relieved myself. I was washing my hands when I saw somebody standing behind me. I turned around./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "Yes, Elise?" I said in a sweet voice. I dried my hands and walked outside. She followed me./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "Is it true, Aimery?" She asked then snorted. "Well, obviously it's true. You weren't going to last very long at CC anyways." I stared at her, but said nothing. "I knew you were going to crack under pressure. I didn't doubt it was true that you were wailing outside your dorm room. You don't belong here, Aimery. Not even two weeks in and you get a detention."/span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "I'm sorry, Elise. I'm sorry you're not as good as me, but we can't go on like this forever." She snorted and I walked away, my head high./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "At least I don't walk around with my hair spiked upward. Who knew that sweat could act as a disgusting gel?" I didn't say anything. She didn't deserve the class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p  
p class="p2"span class="s1"I strutted back to Crescent and took a shower. I dressed in a mini skirt and Abercrombie tank. I curled my hair and parted it on the class="Apple-converted-space" /spanI wanted to look pretty. Cassidy was wearing denim shorts and a cute airy top. We looked great. My confidence restored I went to the cafeteria with Cassidy to get a late lunch./span/p  
p class="p2"span class="s1"Eliza and Maize were just sitting down when we walked in, so we grabbed a lunch and sat by them. They smiled at us and Eliza complimented my hair. "Why thank you, emdarling/em." Maize gave me a funny look and giggled./span/p  
p class="p2"span class="s1""What's up with you today, Ophelia?" She giggled again. "It's just, different."/span/p  
p class="p2"span class="s1""I surely don't know what you're talking about." I smiled and ruffled my hair. Both of the older girls shook their heads./span/p  
p class="p2"span class="s1""Want to come vault with us in a little while? We should practice on the barrel some more before the get out the vaulting horse on Monday. I agreed happily and told Cassidy she could come watch. She happily obliged./span/p  
p class="p2"span class="s1""I want to see what this vaulting is all about!"br /span/p 


	8. Chapter 8- Competition

p class="p1"span class="s1""Alright riders!" Announces Mr. Davis. "That was a good lesson. Olivia, remember to slacken your rein after you land those water jumps. Now, I have something very exciting to tell you all. Our first competition is in a month! There is a sign up sheet by my office. You can pick up to three classes in either beginner or intermediate, but I recommend beginner. Ophelia, your vaulting class does not count as one of your three classes. Choose wisely, riders!"/span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" I smiled and walked Beethoven beside Milan, Honey, and Sequin. "What do you guys want to do? I want to do a cross-country class for sure."/span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "I'm definitely doing dressage and stadium jumping." I smiled at Olivia. She was finally becoming a part of our team even if she was not always included class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "I'm in for stadium jumping. I don't want to overdo myself." Cassidy said. She looked nervous and excited at the same time. She must have not done many comps in the past./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" We all talked about our plans for the show the following week. I was looking forward to vaulting on Moose. He was super wide, which made it easier to do our routine on. I had decided to do the compulsories at the canter and my team and I were doing our routine at the trot./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" Once Beethoven was cooled, I brushed him down quickly but thoroughly. Olivia and I left Cassidy and Ethan in the dust as we raced over to Mr. Davis office to sign ourselves up. Olivia put her name up for intermediate dressage and beginner show jumping. I signed up for beginner cross-country and intermediate show jumping. I would have enough classes as it was and I didn't sign up for a third class./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" Ethan signed up for intermediate show jumping and so did Cassidy. We all laughed when they did this. So much for signing up for beginning classes. We were all determined to practice extra this week for next weekends show. Cassidy and I were giddy the rest of the afternoon./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" We did our homework without complaint until six o'clock when we decided to go out to the Chinese restaurant on campus for dinner. I ordered a salad and the fried rice and Cassidy got the soup with broccoli and beef. We were having the best time eating, laughing, and choking when we laughed while we ate. Everything about this Wednesday was perfect until Lincoln and two of his friends walked in. I only recognized Ethan and had no recollection whatsoever of the second one./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" I looked at Cassidy and rolled my eyes. The corners of her lips went up, but I had no idea why. Ethan recognized me and waved./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "Hey, Ophelia!" Well, so much for staying under their radar. I scrunched my eyebrows together. "Oh, Cassidy! I didn't see you there!"/span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" Lincoln smirked. "You've been avoiding me as much as possible, Ophelia. It's impressive; we have film together. Now that you're finally here, how was your detention?" If I could've banged my head on the table without looking like an idiot, I would have./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "It was fine, actually. Thank to that hour, I aced my test on the constitution." I replied coolly. "Thanks for asking, though." He was really getting on my nerves./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" He smirked at got a table with his friends. I turned to Cassidy. "Do you know who the third one was?" Cassidy looked dazed for a second, but pulled herself back to earth./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "That was Jack. He's in Blackwell, I think." Oh. I've never seen him before./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" Cassidy and I continued eating in peace. When we finished we paid for our dinner using the funds accounts our parents created for school. We walked back to Crescent and finished our homework. At one point, Madison had to come in at eleven and tell us to go to bed. We turned out the lights, but used headlamps to finish our literature reports./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" We eventually drifted off to sleep around one in the morning and I woke up über-early the next day. I was exhausted. I pulled on leggings and a crop top and left the dorm with my vaulting shoes. It was still dark out as I padded toward the indoor arena barefoot. When I got there, Stephanie and the girls were stretching. I joined them and woke up./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "Let's do this!" I yelled as enthusiastically as I could and jumped up. Stephanie had Moose walk in a circle. We agreed that we were going to practice at the walk everyday then work up to the trot or canter as we warmed up. It was a good idea./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" I bounded up to Stephanie and saluted. She turned the music on and I bounced over to moose. I mounted gracefully and put either of my feet in the handholds. I stood up and put my arms above my head and grabbed my left wrist./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" em"To go over, everything. They say time is supposed to heal-"/em/span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" I rolled backwards and up into a headstand. I was leaning against the handles and my left arm was out./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" em"Hello from the outside!"/em/span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" I pulled myself to a standing position and Eliza mounted and grabbed my arms. She spun me and she went into the splits and I rolled off of moose's butt./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" em"To tell you that I'm sorry. For everything that I've-"/em/span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" Eliza helped Maize on and they both stood with their arms out to the sides. They both collapsed into the splits and rolled their torsos in a circle./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" em"But it don't matter. Clearly it don't tear you apart anymore."/em/span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" They both dismounted and they bounded toward me and we squealed with delight. We had done everything almost perfectly! I had stumbled on my dismount, to be honest, but that performance was worth enough points to get us first place if we did what we did today./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" We practiced the compulsories at the canter and we did our freestyle routine once more at the trot. Stephanie told us we had to come up with a new routine for our other shows and we all began silently brainstorming ideas. I knew that Stephanie wanted to do some fun stunts with the girls and me because I was so small. It would be so fun, but right now we had to focus on our "emHello"/em routine./span/p 


	9. Chapter 9- Fight for the Belle

p class="p1"span class="s1"I put on a real shirt for school that morning, but I didn't do much else. I had my hair in a sloppy bun and I was wearing an old tank top with a grey cardigan over my dirty leggings. I tried to use concealer to hide the dark spots under my eyes, but no such class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" I had gone through school in a daze, looking forward to film class. Sort of. Literature was the best; we just read emGone with the Wind./em Algebra was terrible; we had a test. Everything else was mediocre. I was tired, but I knew I could wake up for film and riding, so I was okay with being a zombie for the most part./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" Lunch was okay. I sat with the vaulting girls and Cassidy sat with Elise. I was okay with that; Elise and Cassidy had been friends for a while. Cassidy had wanted me to sit with her, but I didn't want to have to deal with Elise. I was too tried to dish out decent comebacks./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" I walked into film class and sat down next to Nicole. She smiled at me because today we were filming our screenplays that had been graded the day previously on Wednesday./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "Hey, Ophelia." Said Ethan as he sat by us with Lincoln next to him. Lincoln slugged him in the shoulder. What can I say? He's a jerk./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "Alright. You young men and women will have access to the costume room today for your films. Just follow the CC rules and have fun! Remember, your films will be graded." Mr. Baker clasped his hands together and stepped backward in a gesture to say, "go do whatever"./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "Lets grab some old-timey costumes and shoot this in the grass by the dorms." I said and everybody nodded in agreement. Nicole and I gaped at all of the 1800s dresses we could choose from, but the boys just picked the first costumes they could find. I finally settled on a blue dress with a lace-lined bodice and floor length skirt. The dress had short sleeves and a square shaped neckline. I picked a hoop skirt and corset to wear just for fun. Nicole picked a more modest dress and a thin hoopskirt and corset./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" Once we all changed we met in front of Orchard: the prettiest dorm on campus. The boys looked ridiculous in breeches and ruffled scruffs, but I felt really pretty and I'm sure Nicole did, too. Nicole set up the tripod and camera because she was going to be filming most of the time./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" The story started when Nicole presented me to the two gentlemen and told them the old tradition we had where I had come from. Lincoln and Ethan then said they would carry on the old tradition of fighting to the death if it meant winning my hand./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "If it means a chance at the hand of this darling lady, then I shall try with my life." Ethan said with a serious face but I knew he was trying not to smile./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "I too would fight with my life on the line for the hand of such a beautiful young lady." Lincoln said equally as seriously. I blushed a little bit. I knew it was all in the script even if it was class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "It's settled then!" Nicole spoke with such poise and eloquence and force that made me forget she was such a shy person. She must have been working on her lines with a friend./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "Gentlemen, please take your places." I smiled gently when I said so. I pretended I was a southern Belle from the 1850s. Nicole and I stepped away and we filmed the battle between the two. As requested, Ethan had died. We used washable red paint for a bloodstain when a fake pistol Lincoln had been wielding shot him. Nicole stopped filming there and we all took a five-minute break./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "This dress is so uncomfortable!" I said. "I think it's worth it, though, because it's so pretty."/span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" Lincoln smirked. "Yup. Beauty is pain, Highness." I glared at him and the left corner of his mouth lifted a little more to form an even larger smirk. I took a deep breath and turned to Nicole./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "Ready to keep filming?"span class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "Yup. We'll have Ethan film this next part because he's, well, dead." I smiled and Ethan showed me two thumbs up. He began filming once we were all in place./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "You've done it, sir." Nicole said almost proudly. "I must congratulate you on your victory. May I present to you Miss Ophelia Aimery." I stepped forward and Lincoln took my hand and kissed it gingerly. He smirked slightly and I frowned. I blushed again. This was so stupid./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Mr. Lansing." I said almost unwillingly./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "The pleasure is all mine. Would you like to go out with me?" He said this is the same monotone he had been using throughout the screenplay./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "Students, please stop recording! Your time is up. We will be watching your films tomorrow in class!" Declared Mr. Davis./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" Ethan stopped recording and I yanked my hand out of Lincoln's. That was not in the script! That was absolutely not in the script! And there wasn't time to fix the scene!/span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" I grabbed Nicole and took off toward the bathrooms to change, my skirt rustling and slowing me down. After some struggle with hoop skirts, the two of us were back in the costume room hanging up the costumes we used. I carefully slid the dress onto a hangar and turned around. I bumped into Lincoln./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "I never got an answer." He said with a grin, "You ran off before I could kiss you, let alone get an answer." I stared at him, my jaw slackened. I hinged my jaw shut and I turned very, very red. I had butterflies in my stomach and in that moment I hated him more than I had hated any one before./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "Would you stop smirking?! I can't stand you! And you just had to embarrass me like that? You know Mr. Davis is playing those films to the class!" He touched my elbow, but I pulled it away./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "So I'll take that as a no?" He raised his eyebrows and peered into my green eyes. I stared right back at him. After a moment, I blinked my eyes and walked away, only a tear daring to escape. I walked back to my dorm to get ready for riding./span/p 


	10. Chapter 10- Unfocused

p class="p1"span class="s1"I yanked on my charcoal black breeches and Ariat boots. I grabbed my helmet and stormed out of the dorm and slammed the dorm. In my furry, I didn't see Cassidy and I bumped into her. She grabbed my shoulders and looked me in the eye./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "Are you okay, Ophelia?" She asked me this very firmly. "You can't keep your feelings inside of you. Remember what happened last time?" I nodded. It was humiliating to be known as the girl who had a meltdown./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" Cassidy pulled me into the dorm and sat me on her bed. "What happened?" She sat down next to me and I wiped my eyes before any tears would come out./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "Lincoln asked me out." My voice broke off at the end. Cassidy smiled./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "Oh my gosh! Really? I'm so happy for you!" I stared at her in disbelief. She didn't understand. I glared at her before I stood up and stormed down to the stables. I found Beethoven and wrapped my arms around this neck. He seemed to understand and lowered his head toward me. I walked into his stall at used my vaulting skills to gracefully land myself on his back. No tack, so bareback pads. Just my horse and me. emMy/em horse. I couldn't get over the fact that something so amazing could possibly be emmine./em/span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" We stayed like this for a second before I swung like a monkey and grabbed his grooming kit from the top of the locker by his stall. I then currycombed every part of him that I could reach before dismounting and using a dandy brush to sweep off any hay or hair on his body. I picked his hooves and saddled him up./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" I led him to the path just outside the outdoor arena and mounted using a stray bucket so I wouldn't spook and horses. I had an hour before my lesson so I decided to go to the indoor arena to hangout with Beethoven. I was trotting over a few poles when I heard my phone chime. I halted Beethoven and took the device out of my pocket. I got another text, then another. I read the first one./span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"emTo Ophelia: U look lonely. Can S and I join u 2?/em/span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p3"span class="s1"I laughed at the text and texted her back. She was awesome, wasn't she?/span/p  
p class="p4" /p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"emTo Olivia: Sure. Idc./em/span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" I looked at the other texts and I saw they were from Cassidy. I didn't bother read them. Maybe I would later, but not now. I made a new conversation and sent a text./span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"emTo Eliza, Maize: Can I sleep over at your dorm tonight? Ik it's last min, but I'm having some issues with Cas rn./em/span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"emTo Ophelia: We're cool w/ that. Ask ur dorm monitor./em/span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" I smiled. They were such good people even if they were in eighth grade. Olivia trotted into the arena on Sequin and waved. I waved back and we didn't talk, but I really appreciated the fact that she was there./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"I just trotted over poles and did serpentines and I was fine. I never tried anything above what seven year old me would do at a lesson./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" When Olivia left the arena to go to lessons I followed her in a daze. I guess I was pretty out of it. I was tired and I was mad and I had no idea how I felt about the whole situation./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" Everybody else on my team was already in the arena when I got there. I avoided looking at Cassidy and Ethan. Olivia was my only ally right here and right now. Good old crazy Olivia. CC was über-hard and very stressful. Soooo many things were happening at once./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "Ophelia? Are you paying attention? It's your turn on the jump course." Mr. Davis waved a hand in front of my class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "Oh. Yes. Sorry." I freaked out for a second but I then realized that that was the jump course we did a few days earlier but maybe a few inches higher. I could do this. Probably./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" I asked Beethoven to trot and he did so. The trot was fast and uncomfortable, but I didn't correct him as I eased him into a canter. I pointed his toward the first jump and he kept his canter slow and collected. Good boy. I went into the three-point position and we cleared the jump. The next jump was the double. We made a tight turn and Beethoven was going to fast to make it over the first jump and over the second./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" I tried to slow Beethoven down, but he wasn't responding. I tried half-halting, but he only surged forward with even more strength. At this point there was nothing I could do. I leaned forward onto his neck and he landed perfectly!/span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" I was about to pet him but the next thing I knew I was on the ground on the other side of the second jump in the combination. I had flown over his neck when Beethoven skidded to a halt. Oh. My. God./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "Ophelia are you okay? Everybody emergency dismount; loose horse!" Mr. Davis ran up to me. "Cassidy, get Beethoven. Ethan, get Doug the stable hand." Mr. Davis helped me to my feet and took off my helmet./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "I'm okay," I said my breath shaking. "Just shaky." He looked at my face./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "What was that?" He asked gently. "We both knew you weren't going to make it. You should've bailed. I agreed with him. I should've bailed./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" Doug came up to Beethoven and took him from Cassidy. I smiled up at my horse and silently apologized to him. I wiped my eyes before any tears could spring out./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "I think I'm going to sit out the rest of the lesson." I told Mr. Davis. He nodded and I slowly walked out of the arena. I grabbed my helmet from where Mr. Davis had dropped it and sulked past the stables. How could I have been so stupid? Why did I have to be so unfocused? So many feelings I never knew I had begun pitting up in the center of my stomach. I found a bench behind the indoor pool and sat down. I began to sob. Like full on ugly sobs./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" I cried and cried and cried. So many things. I cried about so many things and I didn't even know why. I totally screwed up at riding. I'm struggling with Cassidy and Elise. Lincoln asked me out and that film is going to embarrass me tomorrow. I couldn't even face emmyself./em That's when I felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked over to find Lincoln who was sitting next to me. His dark hair was wet and he was wearing sweatpants and a damp shirt./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "Just got done with water polo practice. Look what I found." His voice was gentle and calming where it was using rough and mocking. I had no idea how long he had been watching class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "The guilt finally eating you? Couldn't stand the fact that you actually made me cry?" I choked out my words between sobs. He said nothing. He just stared ahead into the class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" I leaned into him and he let me cry. He didn't try to stop me. He didn't try to say anything. He just sat there like he was trying to accept what was happening. He was so peaceful. He sighed./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "I have to go back to my dorm. I promised I would meet Ethan and Jack for pizza in fifteen minutes. You… You could join us if you'd like."/span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" I didn't know what to say. He had been so confident just hours before at film class and now he was acting like a puppy that didn't want to be punished. It was weird./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "I… I'll pass. This time." He smiled. He actually smiled. It wasn't a smirk; it was a smile./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "I look forward to next time, Ophelia." With that, he stood up and jogged to Blackwell. I stood and walked at a snail's pace to Crescent./span/p 


	11. Chapter 11- Tucking the Crazy in

p class="p1"span class="s1"I was in Maize and Eliza's room giggling and talking about Lincoln. I had three dresses, two purses, five pairs of shoes, and two jackets spread out on the girls' class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "He's the most popular guy in your grade, isn't he? A few girls in the eighth have crushes on him and that tells a lot." I had never seen Eliza like this. She was totally giggling like a fourth grader. She was almost as giddy as I was./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "Uh, I don't know. I haven't been at CC too long. I don't even know if like him. Everything is really confusing." I explain to Eliza. "Wait. If I don't officially like him it wouldn't be an official date which would mean I wouldn't officially braking my promise to myself, right?"/span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" Maize scrunched her eyebrows together and looked at me ad if I was absolutely insane "Huh?"/span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" I shook my head and turned back to my outfit choices. I think I liked the maroon maxi dress with the exposed back, but I wasn't entirely sure. Maize put the maroon dress next to the silver flats and black clutch. I think that would be it even if it didn't have a shawl./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "I like it." I say and I reach out to touch the dress. "Do you have any silver hoops I could borrow?" Eliza nodded and escaped into the bathroom. When she came back, she was holding two small silver hoops in each hand. I smiled and thanked her. Once I finished changing the bathroom, I unlocked the door and prepared myself to model the outfit for the two girls./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" I threw open the bathroom door and strutted out of the bathroom to the end of the room and back. I turned and pointed at the ceiling and all three of us burst into giggles./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "Just don't spend all of your time with Lincoln. Remember, we still have our show next week." Eliza was right. This was a one-time thing because I had to focus on more important things like school and horses. Once we all pulled ourselves back to earth, the Eliza and Maize wished me good luck./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "Wait, I know it's awkward, but could I spend the night here? I'm just not in a good spot with Cassidy right now." Eliza looked at me like I was an idiot./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "Of course you can stay here! Now get your butt downstairs." Eliza came over to me and shooed me like a horse. I giggled then ran out the door and shut it behind me before either of them started trying to feed me carrots./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" I walked out of Winchester and stood in the chilly breeze; it was like the universe was telling me I should've worn a cardigan. I rubbed my arms and started to walk down the path that led to the pizza place stationed on campus. I saw Lincoln waiting for me. The sun was setting and it was getting cooler by the minute, but we would be inside the restaurant in less than two minutes./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" We walked side by side in silence the whole way to Mario's Pizzeria. He was wearing Jeans and a polo shirt. Nothing special. I mean we were just going to a pizza place. Lincoln opened the door for me, which was a nice gesture. /span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" We got a small booth towards the back of the restaurant with a good view of the kitchen. It was always fun to see the chefs tossing the dough./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "What type of pizza do you like?" Lincoln asked me with easiness in his tone like he did this everyday. Heck, maybe he did. I had to think about his question for a minute before announcing that I like Hawaiian pizza. Fruit, does in fact, belong on pizza. He smirked and I wanted to slap him./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "Stop it! I hate it when you smirk!" His wicked grin widened and I took a few deep breaths. I think he was enjoying this. He shook off whatever he may have been feeling in that moment and changed the subject./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "You're a rider, aren't you? Your horse is… Beethoven. You like classical music?"/span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "I am I rider. I also vault. Beethoven in my beautiful Arabian and I absolutely hate classical music. The name spoke to me when I saw it in a magazine." I said answering all of his questions at once. "And you play water polo."/span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "I do. Ethan is on your riding team, isn't he?" I told him Ethan was, in fact, on my team./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "Not up for conversation, are you?" Lincoln smirked yet again and rested his elbows on the table. I straightened my posture and folded my hands in my lap. Ugh./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" When the waitress came by Lincoln ordered a Hawaiian pizza with extra pineapple. I raised an eyebrow at him and he copied me with a devilishly handsome smile. I couldn't help notice the way his eyes twinkled. Stop it, Ophelia!/span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" The pizza came and Lincoln sliced it in small, dainty slices after thanking the waitress. I took a sip of my water as he served both of us. I thanked him and began eating. I could tell he was staring at me and I stared back at him under my lashes so he couldn't see. His cheekbones were perfectly structured and the corners of his mouth began to curve slightly upward before, he too, began eating./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "So you heard that we're going to be in the same groups for film for the rest of the year?" My eyes widened and I looked at him. "Really?" I asked./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "No. He's going to pair us together every time and switch everybody else." I laughed at myself and he did, too./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "I'm starting to think being in a group with you for film isn't a bad thing," I began after a few minutes. "You're actually decent at acting. If I can figure out this whole CC thing, I want to try out for the school play. You should too. You're awfully talented. Can you sing, Lincoln?"/span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "Like a dying giraffe." I giggled and I admitted that my neighbor's dog howled every time I ever class="Apple-converted-space" /spanRead: Screeched./span/p  
p class="p2"span class="s1""Yeah. Don't let's do the school play." I said after a second. Why was he so damn easy to talk to?/span/p  
p class="p2"span class="s1"We talked about other stupid things and I couldn't help but laugh every time he made a snide comment about one of the teachers or students. After a while we fell into a rhythm. I have to say, I had a lot of fun. Lincoln paid the bill like a gentleman and he walked me back to Crescent./span/p  
p class="p2"span class="s1""I still sort of hate you. Even if you're really funny and awesome to be around." I told him only half joking./span/p  
p class="p2"span class="s1""Thank you? You're not so awful either, Aimery. See? I have good taste in the ladies." I shook my head at him and began to walk in time with his footsteps. I shivered./span/p  
p class="p2"span class="s1""In the corny romance movies this would be where I give you my jacket, but alas, there is no jacket." I smiled and rolled my eyes. Lincoln chuckled. He put his arm around me and squeezed to help warm me up before letting it fall back to his class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p  
p class="p2"span class="s1""I also appreciate your humor even if it is crude and wretched sometimes." At this, Lincoln laughed. Not a chuckle, a full out laugh that resounded off the walls of the buildings around us. Slightly alarmed, my eyes grew wide and I shoved him on the shoulder. Now that I notice, he is at least seven inches taller than me. But then again, I am only five feet tall./span/p  
p class="p2"span class="s1""What, Ophelia? Can't a guy laugh?" I told him he can be as happy as we wants just not as loud as he wants at nine o'clock on a weekend. He smirked. I resisted the urge to punch him./span/p  
p class="p2"span class="s1""Here we are. Winchester. This is where you're staying right?" He turned to look at me. "In the corny romance movies this would also be where I dip you backward as passionately kiss you, but you're luck has run out tonight." I blushed slightly and rolled my eyes./span/p  
p class="p2"span class="s1""Nope. Still wretched." I said jokingly before I retreated into the warmth of Winchester and darted back to Elise and Maize's dorm room./span/p  
p class="p2"span class="s1""We would've gone to bed, like, an hour ago, but we totally wanted to hear every detail of the night." I giggled and replayed every moment of the night with Elise giving me weirdo looks every time I got mad at Lincoln./span/p  
p class="p2"span class="s1""I mean he is a little bit of a jerk," Eliza had said thoughtfully, "But he is a rather sweet one. You two are perfect for each other."/span/p  
p class="p2"span class="s1"I rolled my eyes and carried on with my story. When I told them that Lincoln had said, "In the corny romance movies this would be where I dip you backward and kiss you passionately," Eliza practically tackled me onto her bed and giggle-screeched. When I told her that I told him that he was wretched, she hit me with her slipper./span/p  
p class="p2"span class="s1""Jesus Christ! He wasn't going to kiss me anyways! I don't even think I wanted him too. Our friendship… relationship… is in a precarious place right now."/span/p  
p class="p2"span class="s1"Both Eliza and Maize rolled their eyes at me but I knew we were all very giddy and giggly. We played truth or dare, two truths and one lie, and a few other fun slumber party games before we finally went to bed around eleven o'clock at night./span/p  
p class="p3"span class="s1" span class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p 


	12. Chapter 12- Something

p class="p1"span class="s1"I was in Maize and Eliza's room giggling and talking about Lincoln. I had three dresses, two purses, five pairs of shoes, and two jackets spread out on the girls' class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "He's the most popular guy in your grade, isn't he? A few girls in the eighth have crushes on him and that tells a lot." I had never seen Eliza like this. She was totally giggling like a fourth grader. She was almost as giddy as I was./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "Uh, I don't know. I haven't been at CC too long. I don't even know if like him. Everything is really confusing." I explain to Eliza. "Wait. If I don't officially like him it wouldn't be an official date which would mean I wouldn't officially braking my promise to myself, right?"/span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" Maize scrunched her eyebrows together and looked at me ad if I was absolutely insane "Huh?"/span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" I shook my head and turned back to my outfit choices. I think I liked the maroon maxi dress with the exposed back, but I wasn't entirely sure. Maize put the maroon dress next to the silver flats and black clutch. I think that would be it even if it didn't have a shawl./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "I like it." I say and I reach out to touch the dress. "Do you have any silver hoops I could borrow?" Eliza nodded and escaped into the bathroom. When she came back, she was holding two small silver hoops in each hand. I smiled and thanked her. Once I finished changing the bathroom, I unlocked the door and prepared myself to model the outfit for the two girls./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" I threw open the bathroom door and strutted out of the bathroom to the end of the room and back. I turned and pointed at the ceiling and all three of us burst into giggles./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "Just don't spend all of your time with Lincoln. Remember, we still have our show next week." Eliza was right. This was a one-time thing because I had to focus on more important things like school and horses. Once we all pulled ourselves back to earth, the Eliza and Maize wished me good luck./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "Wait, I know it's awkward, but could I spend the night here? I'm just not in a good spot with Cassidy right now." Eliza looked at me like I was an idiot./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "Of course you can stay here! Now get your butt downstairs." Eliza came over to me and shooed me like a horse. I giggled then ran out the door and shut it behind me before either of them started trying to feed me carrots./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" I walked out of Winchester and stood in the chilly breeze; it was like the universe was telling me I should've worn a cardigan. I rubbed my arms and started to walk down the path that led to the pizza place stationed on campus. I saw Lincoln waiting for me. The sun was setting and it was getting cooler by the minute, but we would be inside the restaurant in less than two minutes./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" We walked side by side in silence the whole way to Mario's Pizzeria. He was wearing Jeans and a polo shirt. Nothing special. I mean we were just going to a pizza place. Lincoln opened the door for me, which was a nice gesture. /span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" We got a small booth towards the back of the restaurant with a good view of the kitchen. It was always fun to see the chefs tossing the dough./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "What type of pizza do you like?" Lincoln asked me with easiness in his tone like he did this everyday. Heck, maybe he did. I had to think about his question for a minute before announcing that I like Hawaiian pizza. Fruit, does in fact, belong on pizza. He smirked and I wanted to slap him./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "Stop it! I hate it when you smirk!" His wicked grin widened and I took a few deep breaths. I think he was enjoying this. He shook off whatever he may have been feeling in that moment and changed the subject./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "You're a rider, aren't you? Your horse is… Beethoven. You like classical music?"/span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "I am I rider. I also vault. Beethoven in my beautiful Arabian and I absolutely hate classical music. The name spoke to me when I saw it in a magazine." I said answering all of his questions at once. "And you play water polo."/span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "I do. Ethan is on your riding team, isn't he?" I told him Ethan was, in fact, on my team./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "Not up for conversation, are you?" Lincoln smirked yet again and rested his elbows on the table. I straightened my posture and folded my hands in my lap. Ugh./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" When the waitress came by Lincoln ordered a Hawaiian pizza with extra pineapple. I raised an eyebrow at him and he copied me with a devilishly handsome smile. I couldn't help notice the way his eyes twinkled. Stop it, Ophelia!/span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" The pizza came and Lincoln sliced it in small, dainty slices after thanking the waitress. I took a sip of my water as he served both of us. I thanked him and began eating. I could tell he was staring at me and I stared back at him under my lashes so he couldn't see. His cheekbones were perfectly structured and the corners of his mouth began to curve slightly upward before, he too, began eating./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "So you heard that we're going to be in the same groups for film for the rest of the year?" My eyes widened and I looked at him. "Really?" I asked./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "No. He's going to pair us together every time and switch everybody else." I laughed at myself and he did, too./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "I'm starting to think being in a group with you for film isn't a bad thing," I began after a few minutes. "You're actually decent at acting. If I can figure out this whole CC thing, I want to try out for the school play. You should too. You're awfully talented. Can you sing, Lincoln?"/span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "Like a dying giraffe." I giggled and I admitted that my neighbor's dog howled every time I ever class="Apple-converted-space" /spanRead: Screeched./span/p  
p class="p2"span class="s1""Yeah. Don't let's do the school play." I said after a second. Why was he so damn easy to talk to?/span/p  
p class="p2"span class="s1"We talked about other stupid things and I couldn't help but laugh every time he made a snide comment about one of the teachers or students. After a while we fell into a rhythm. I have to say, I had a lot of fun. Lincoln paid the bill like a gentleman and he walked me back to Crescent./span/p  
p class="p2"span class="s1""I still sort of hate you. Even if you're really funny and awesome to be around." I told him only half joking./span/p  
p class="p2"span class="s1""Thank you? You're not so awful either, Aimery. See? I have good taste in the ladies." I shook my head at him and began to walk in time with his footsteps. I shivered./span/p  
p class="p2"span class="s1""In the corny romance movies this would be where I give you my jacket, but alas, there is no jacket." I smiled and rolled my eyes. Lincoln chuckled. He put his arm around me and squeezed to help warm me up before letting it fall back to his class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p  
p class="p2"span class="s1""I also appreciate your humor even if it is crude and wretched sometimes." At this, Lincoln laughed. Not a chuckle, a full out laugh that resounded off the walls of the buildings around us. Slightly alarmed, my eyes grew wide and I shoved him on the shoulder. Now that I notice, he is at least seven inches taller than me. But then again, I am only five feet tall./span/p  
p class="p2"span class="s1""What, Ophelia? Can't a guy laugh?" I told him he can be as happy as we wants just not as loud as he wants at nine o'clock on a weekend. He smirked. I resisted the urge to punch him./span/p  
p class="p2"span class="s1""Here we are. Winchester. This is where you're staying right?" He turned to look at me. "In the corny romance movies this would also be where I dip you backward as passionately kiss you, but you're luck has run out tonight." I blushed slightly and rolled my eyes./span/p  
p class="p2"span class="s1""Nope. Still wretched." I said jokingly before I retreated into the warmth of Winchester and darted back to Elise and Maize's dorm room./span/p  
p class="p2"span class="s1""We would've gone to bed, like, an hour ago, but we totally wanted to hear every detail of the night." I giggled and replayed every moment of the night with Elise giving me weirdo looks every time I got mad at Lincoln./span/p  
p class="p2"span class="s1""I mean he is a little bit of a jerk," Eliza had said thoughtfully, "But he is a rather sweet one. You two are perfect for each other."/span/p  
p class="p2"span class="s1"I rolled my eyes and carried on with my story. When I told them that Lincoln had said, "In the corny romance movies this would be where I dip you backward and kiss you passionately," Eliza practically tackled me onto her bed and giggle-screeched. When I told her that I told him that he was wretched, she hit me with her slipper./span/p  
p class="p2"span class="s1""Jesus Christ! He wasn't going to kiss me anyways! I don't even think I wanted him too. Our friendship… relationship… is in a precarious place right now."/span/p  
p class="p2"span class="s1"Both Eliza and Maize rolled their eyes at me but I knew we were all very giddy and giggly. We played truth or dare, two truths and one lie, and a few other fun slumber party games before we finally went to bed around eleven o'clock at night./span/p  
p class="p3"span class="s1" span class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p 


	13. Chapter 13- Practice, Practice, Practice

p class="p1"span class="s1"When Maize, Eliza and I woke up that morning, we giggled a small amount more about the night before. They changed into their vaulting shoes and some comfy clothes and set off to the vaulting barrel while I ran back to Crescent and changed into a crop top and black yoga pants. As I ran to meet the girls, I knotted my hair into a loose French braid. When I found Eliza and Maize stretching, I was panting./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "Stars, you'd think you'd try to save your energy for vaulting, Ophelia!" Maize teased me. I rolled my eyes and stretched with them. We all took turns doing the compulsories on the barrel to emBlank Space/em by Taylor Swift. I did everything perfectly and so did Maize. Eliza was having trouble getting her heel click as high as it could be./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "Let's practice our freestyle!" I said excitedly once we were all sufficiently warmed up. Maize hit the music and I let it carry me around the vaulting barrel. I did everything with such grace and emotion I thought I was going to cry. I nailed my dismount and the girls nailed theirs as class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "We nailed that!" I said and gave Eliza a double high five when she held both of her hands toward me./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "That was impressive. I have no idea how you do it." I turned to see Lincoln leaning against the wall of the indoor arena. I had no idea how he got in without us noticing. He spoke directly to me this time. "You've taken gymnastics, I'm assuming?"/span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" I nodded and he crossed his arms. I suddenly felt very exposed in my cropped shirt and yoga pants. I crossed my arms over my stomach./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "I learn something new about my girlfriend every day." I quirked an eyebrow at him. "Who said I was your girlfriend?" He held up his hands in mock surrender and crossed the arena toward me. I noticed he was wearing a zip-up jacket. He saw me looking at him./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "Noticed I'm wearing a jacket, huh?" I frowned and his face lit up. He was a strange bean. "You all look surprisingly graceful when you vault. You know, graceful for doing tricks on a barrel covered in a tarp." I could see Eliza roll her eyes, but she didn't say anything. I knew how she felt./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "I better get going. I think Olivia's waiting on me. I told her we would trail ride today." Maize and Eliza waved me goodbye and Lincoln followed me out toward the stable./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "You cold?" He joked. I smiled up at him and shook my head. I pulled up my yoga pants a little bit./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "This is where you leave me… Unless you want to jump on a horse and go gallop around in a field. Soooo."span class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "I think I'll pass on that one as tempting as it sounds." He smirked and I walked away before he could say anything else. I found Beethoven and tacked him up. Olivia walked up to me and she looked guilty./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "What did you do?" I asked her. She held up her hands. "Absolutely nothing, but would you like to practice with Sequin and I in the outdoor arena instead of trail riding?" I happily obliged. I needed practice anyways./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" I wore my leggings and vaulting shoes while I rode, but it didn't affect my riding very much. We did a few courses with low jumps and sharp turns. We also worked on some flatwork, but I didn't focus all of my energy toward it because I was showing in stadium jumping and class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "Sit back some more, Olivia. It will help you keep her in a straight line" I advised as Olivia retorted to tugging on her reins to keep Sequin going straight. She sat and Sequin's pace slowed slightly and became more collected. Olivia let her elbows rock in time with her horse's strides. I smiled./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" I was letting Beethoven rest while I made up dressage patterns for Olivia to follow. She got to A and headed toward M at a beautiful canter. At X, she cued Sequin to change leads and began tracking left./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "Make sure to keep your hands steady when you ask for the turn." I was watching Olivia closely and she was having some difficulties with her reins./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "I'm taking a break. I'll set you up a jump pattern and I'll critique you." Olivia set up a jump course at four feet and five inches. I think she knew I was showing at four feet, but I didn't complain./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" I let Beethoven start at a slow canter, which gave me plenty of time to think ahead. One… two… three… up and then one jump was behind us as I let my horse into a slow gallop before collecting the reins and clearing a faux water jump. I made Beethoven canter as we made a right-angled turn toward a triple combination. We made it through the rest of the course clean and I petted Beethoven./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "Not bad for no boots, am I right?" Olivia beamed at me offered two thumbs class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p 


	14. Chapter 14- Already?

p class="p1"span class="s1"The next week went by in a blur of school, horses, and homework and didn't leave me much time for relaxation. On Friday I was assigned a nine-page report on emGone With the Wind/em for literature. We had watched movies in film class all week and we were supposed to write a script for a version of one of the movies we watched over the weekend. We would be given time for filming on Monday./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" I had been avoiding Cassidy all week and hardly talked to her Elise, Victoria, or Juliette. They were becoming quite the quartet. I hadn't talked to Lincoln much, either. We talked in film class and waved to each other in the hallways, but that was class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p  
p class="p2"span class="s1"On Friday while I was working on my lit report, Cassidy stepped into the dorm room. I didn't even look up from my laptop. Cassidy padded over and sat next to me. I still didn't acknowledge her./span/p  
p class="p2"span class="s1""I'm sorry. I know you heard me crying last night and I want you to know that I'm really very sorry." I looked up at her. Why were we even mad at each other? I couldn't remember./span/p  
p class="p2"span class="s1""It-it's fine. I… can't even remember what happened. I think I was just in a bad mood." Cassidy turned to look at me./span/p  
p class="p2"span class="s1""You flipped out when I congratulated you on getting asked out by Lincoln. He's the most popular guy in our grade and I though you were excited."/span/p  
p class="p2"span class="s1"I stared into her eyes. I could see confusion and sadness all balled up inside her irises. She hugged me and I lightly touched her in return. I sighed./span/p  
p class="p2"span class="s1""After completely hating Lincoln, I think we're dating. I don't know what happened but he has this weird charm to him." Cassidy smiled weakly and sighed, too./span/p  
p class="p2"span class="s1""I just want you to know that Victoria and Juliette are total jerks. I can't stand them another emminute/em. Can we go back to being friends?" I nodded and she did too. This was going to take some time, but I was willing to piece back together our friendship if it didn't mean any more awkward nights of staring at the class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p  
p class="p2"span class="s1""Our show is tomorrow morning. I finished braiding Beethoven, but I still need to iron my clothes. Would you help me?" She nodded and we began ironing clothes. Of all things, we bonded over ironing clothes./span/p  
p class="p2"span class="s1""I have this thing I need to do for film class. My group decided we want to base our script off of the plot of Snow White. Any ideas? My group is Ethan, Nicole, Lincoln and I."/span/p  
p class="p2"span class="s1""You should be a teenage girl whose parents are in jail. When somebody steals a laptop, you're unfairly accused for it. Your mother is jealous of your freedom and she tells the cops that you definitely took the laptop. This über-cute police officer is the only person who believes you. When you're unfairly put in jail, the police officer sneaks you out and you live happily ever after."/span/p  
p class="p2"span class="s1" "Well that was definitely something." Cassidy put her hands up in mock surrender./span/p  
p class="p2"span class="s1""Hey. I thought we were operating on a shoestring." I rolled my eyes and shook my class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p  
p class="p2"span class="s1"Once we finished the boring task of ironing clothing, Cassidy decided we would go down the cafeteria for dinner. We waited in line for our food and we weren't surprised to see our "usual" table occupied by Elise and her cronies./span/p  
p class="p2"span class="s1"Cassidy and I picked a seat with Lacey, Olivia's roommate. She waved us over when she recognized us./span/p  
p class="p2"span class="s1""Hello! Realized that your table was taken by some über-evil girls?" I laughed, but Cassidy groaned. Elise was still her friend after all. Maybe. Olivia smiled when she saw us sitting at her table and she began walking over rather quickly./span/p  
p class="p2"span class="s1"I'm not exactly sure what happened after that, but I do know that Juliette's clam chowder ended up on Olivia's shirt as she made her way to her table. Olivia's mouth opened and she dropped her food onto the floor before she shrieked and tried to get some of the thick white goo off of her./span/p  
p class="p2"span class="s1""Oh. I didn't see you there, Olivia. Must have been all of emthat/em blocking my vision." Juliette motioned to Olivia's outfit. She was wearing denim capris and paisley socks with an argyle sweater. Not her look of the year, but the socks was hardly noticeable. Juliette was just dishing out fashionista crap. I told Olivia so when she made her way to our table./span/p  
p class="p2"span class="s1""Ugh. I think it emmight/em be worth that Fashionista Crap comment, though." I smiled and laughed. Olivia. Was. The. Best./span/p  
p class="p2"span class="s1""I have to agree with you on that one." Says Lacey as she tried to pick some soup off of Olivia's shoulder./span/p  
p class="p2"span class="s1""We'll all be taking showers later tonight anyways." Cassidy says trying to be optimistic. In situations like this I've discovered that the only way to lighten the mood is to use some dark, dark humor./span/p  
p class="p2"span class="s1""At least my kneepads are safe. I left them in Crescent." I giggled a little bit but Olivia just looked relieved. I promised myself I wouldn't stoop down to the Meanies level, but I wasn't going to be awfully friendly to them, either./span/p  
p class="p2"span class="s1"Cassidy and I offered Olivia and I our room for the night incase theirs smelled like rotten fish, but they both declined. Sucks for them. At least my room wouldn't smell like fish./span/p  
p class="p2"span class="s1"After we all giggled some more, Cassidy and I walked back to our dorm to get some extra sleep before the big show. We took quick showers and braided our hair in double French braids before we crawled into bed at eight o'clock and called it a night. We used some lavender scented essential oils to help us sleep über-peacefully./span/p  
p class="p2"span class="s1""Good night. If the alarm doesn't go off at three thirty, don't worry. I set about four more on any clocks I could find." I told Cassidy with a lazy grin before drifting off into sleep./span/p  
p class="p2"span class="s1"I had no idea how long I was out, but it certainly wasn't long enough. Several alarm clocks began going off at once. Cassidy and I jumped out of our beds and began hitting anything that made a sound. We were tired, but certainly awake after running around our dorm like crazy people./span/p  
p class="p2"span class="s1"It was completely dark outside and everything was eerily quiet as Cassidy and I took turns in the bathroom. I wore my tan show breeches and a white button-up shirt. I pulled on the navy CC blazer and put a sweatshirt over that so it didn't get dirty while I was in the barn. Cassidy put on sweatpants over her breeches and I copied her./span/p  
p class="p2"span class="s1""This is just too early." I yawned while I stuffed my vaulting leotard and shoes into a bag along with my helmet. Cassidy nodded as she tried to do her hair. She sat on our beds staring at each other for a minute./span/p  
p class="p2"span class="s1""Brain fog," I suddenly said a little too loudly as I began to zone out. "Let's head down to the stables." Cassidy and I crept through Crescent as quietly as we could and met Olivia as we tiptoed down the hallway, bags in hand./span/p  
p class="p2"span class="s1"We stepped out of the dorm and drank in the air. None of the leaves had changed color yet, but the weather definitely was chilling. Three of us huddled together to keep warm as we made our may toward the stables. Olivia stumbled once in the dark light and all three of us struggled to regain our balance./span/p  
p class="p2"span class="s1""I'm so sorry!" Olivia squeaked. "I didn't see that last elevation change. I should've brought my night vision goggles."span class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p  
p class="p2"span class="s1"I choked back a giggle as we managed to steady ourselves before continuing onward to the stables. I found Beethoven and his eyes were closed, sleepy horse. His braids were still impeccable from the night before when I had spent a good hour making sure everything was perfectly set for the show. I slowly opened the gate so I wouldn't startle Beethoven and called his name before petting him./span/p  
p class="p2"span class="s1""Hey, Beethoven. Ready for the show? It's a big one." My horse sleepily opened his eyes and bobbed his head slightly before lowering it again. I took off his blanket and began brushing the nonexistent dirt off of his barrel. I decided to redo his tail braid because it had probably come loose when Beethoven swatted class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p  
p class="p2"span class="s1"It only took me a few minutes; I was an expert at braiding horsehair. Once I had given him some love, I reached into my pocket and gave Beethoven a mint out of a tic-tac container. He stamped his feet happily and gobbled the tiny mint. I began to put tack on Beethoven when I found Olivia standing right next to me./span/p  
p class="p2"span class="s1""Omigod! You emhave/em to stop doing that." Olivia looked a little guilty, but she was also smiling a little bit. "What's up?" I finally said./span/p  
p class="p2"span class="s1""Well, I may or may not have heard that Lincoln's coming to the show. Ethan told me when we were talking in the tack room." I furrowed my eyebrows together./span/p  
p class="p2"span class="s1""Why would he go? I know he's Ethan's roommate, but I emreally/em don't think he's into this horse business." Olivia looked at me like I was a complete idiot./span/p  
p class="p2"span class="s1""He might just have two people to go to the show to see." Olivia finally said in a very matter of fact way before sauntering off toward her horse. I rolled my eyes at her back and petted Beethoven until I realized that he still needed his polo wraps put on and his girth tightened slightly before he got into the trailer./span/p  
p class="p2"span class="s1"I put Beethoven in a trailer with Honey because they seemed to get along. And Honey was way too big to be in a trailer with Milan; the tiny Welsh pony. I coaxed my horse into the trailer with a few more mints and offered some to Ethan when he couldn't get Honey up the ramp. He was skeptical, but took the mints anyways. They worked like a charm; just like I knew they would./span/p  
p class="p2"span class="s1"I smiled at Ethan in an I-told-you-so way and he shook his head. All of the intermediate riders said goodbye to their horses and petted them before we scrambled into a bus with a bunch of other riders. I saw Eliza and Maize in the back of the bus showing each other something on their phones./span/p  
p class="p2"span class="s1"I took the aisle seat in the row across from my vaulting friends with Cassidy next to me. Ethan and Olivia sat in front of Cassidy and me so they could turn around and talk to us. We all talked about the show. I was especially worried because I had only gotten to practice cross-country once in our lessons. I had done a lot of cross-country over the summer, so I wasn't scared. Just nervous. I couldn't believe the shows were already here./span/p 


	15. Chapter 15- It's, um, A Leotard

p class="p1"span class="s1""So close! Minimal faults for Cassidy Scott! Next up is Ophelia Aimery on Beethoven." I beamed at Cassidy and gave her an awkward high five as she passed me on her pony./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1""Not too shabby. Always look up to ponies that can jump over three and a half feet." Cassidy rolled her eyes and gave me a smile. I nodded at her and took my place in the arena. I took a deep breath. I had three more classes after this and I couldn't tire out right now. Next I had vaulting and then cross-country. I was worried about leaving Beethoven in the trailer all by himself, but I trusted that Ethan and Cassidy would check on him every few minutes since they had both finished their only classes./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"I rode Beethoven into the arena and nodded at the judge's panel subconsciously. The course was easy, but I was still nervous about forgetting it. I had Beethoven canter and we headed toward the first jump. We soared over the jump and when we landed I kept my butt off of the saddle slightly. My horse tugged at the reins and I gave him a little leeway as we charged at the faux brick wall. We flew over it and I half-halted./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"Beethoven slowed as we made a sharp turn toward the triple combination. I shortened his stride and gathered up the reins before soaring over the first two jumps. On the third, I went into the three-point position and Beethoven cleared the rain by a good six inches. His hooves hit the sand and he did a weird hop-bounce when his front hooves were too close to the jump. My left foot came out of the stirrup and I panicked. I slowed Beethoven to a trot and put my foot into the stirrup./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"The rest of the course went by in a blur. We clipped one rail and got fourth place; Cassidy got fifth and Ethan got second when he did well in the jump off between three riders. Cassidy and I went to the horse trailers side by side and loaded our horses in./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1""I have vaulting in thirty minutes. I need to change." Cassidy nodded and she held up a towel for me to change behind in the trailer. I emerged in a glittery black and maroon leotard and black vaulting shoes. I felt pretty as I pinned my hair up in a bun symmetrical to Eliza and Maize's. I found Ethan and Lincoln talking to each other as I raced toward the arena where vaulting would take place with Cassidy./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1""You did good. Not bad considering this is your first CC show." I turned toward the voice and noticed that Lincoln had stopped talking to Ethan and was now turned toward me. He scanned my outfit. "Uh… Nice swimsuit?"span class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"I blushed and tried to cover myself up with my arms. The leotard had legs and arms so I guess I shouldn't have felt so naked. I finally settled and crossed my arms trying to cover as much real estate as possible./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1""Oh. It's a leotard. Thanks, though. I'm um… I'm going to go to my vaulting class. I'll see you both later!" I smiled at both Ethan and Lincoln and I took off running. I found Eliza and Maize sitting by Stephanie and the vaulting horse. Eliza jumped up and grabbed my hands./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1""Omigod. We thought you weren't going to show up. We don't show for another, like, ten minutes, but the others have already started!" I smiled and furrowed my eyebrows. I grabbed Eliza's hands, too./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1""We have plenty of time. Calm. Down." Eliza looked guilty and released her iron grip on my arms leaving nail marks where her hands had been. We watched the other teams. I took deep breaths and I entered the zone. Just kidding. I zoned out, but "entering the zone", sounds cooler. When Maize jumped on me screaming, "IT'S OUR TURN!" I, uh, left the zone and jumped up with her. I grinned./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"Eliza led us over to Stephanie where she had the vaulting horse prepped and trotting in circles. We saluted and threw our arms up as we bowed. The music started and I trotted along side the horse until I heard my cue to mount. I dissolved into the music. There was nothing in the world besides my teammates, the music, and me. I put all of my emotions into the routine. I was nervous, scared, excited, and a little freaked out about Lincoln's comment. I did very well./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"When I dismounted, I was very sad. I could've vaulted all day long. I watched Eliza and Maize and I knew they were killing it. I smiled when the song ended and we all trotted around in a circle and bowed again. I hugged Eliza, and Maize hugged both of us. That. Was. Awesome!/span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"I ran out of the arena where I saw Cassidy and she hugged me, too./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1""You did so good! I could never do that. Like, ever. That was amazing!" I smiled and I watched the last team go with Cassidy and the vaulting girls. We got second place right after a team with a girl so small they literally threw her in the air. It emwas/em an impressive class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1""Again, I have no idea how you do it." Lincoln was standing behind me with Ethan and class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1""You did amazing, but I emreally/em have to go to my other class now." Olivia looked strained and uncomfortable. "I'm sorry!" With that she ran off and left the six of us standing in awkward silence./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1""Yeah," Said Eliza and Maize. "We have an intermediate compulsories class in a few minutes." They ran off, too, leaving the intermediate riding team and Lincoln staring at each other./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1""I should change." I finally said. "And I'm not trying to get out of an awkward situation! Not that this is awkward. I just have to get ready for cross-country then change back into my leotard for advanced vaulting compulsories."span class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"Since Cassidy and Ethan didn't have any more classes, they followed me to the trailers along with class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1""I still can't believe I got second place! That's not easy to do! It was close. If I had just pushed Honey around that tight turn, I could've made first. Easily." I smiled at Ethan. He was very happy he won second place and I was happy for him. We all gave him high fives and I went into the trailer to change. Cassidy dutifully held the towel./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"I raced over to the cross-country staring line with Beethoven in my hand. I mounted him and trotted him in serpentines to warm him up. We worked on transitions and rein aids. Before we knew it, it was out turn to run the course. I had memorized the course even though it was partly useless. The course was marked clearly with numbers and red class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"Once I let Beethoven into a canter, there was no going back. I could feel the wind against my cheeks as we bolted up and down hills and over jumps. I knew I was grinning like an idiot. I cantered Beethoven through a river before he jumped out over a log and continued sprinting the course. I let my horse into a slow gallop as we crossed a field heading toward a triple combo. I got second class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p 


	16. Chapter 16- Celebrations to Come

p class="p1"span class="s1"Back in Crescent Olivia, Cassidy, and I were celebrating our victories. Not too shabby for my first CC show. I was elated and so were my friends. We had done so well considering the fact that we had had less than a month to prepare for the huge show./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"I opened a bottle of sparkling apple juice that I had begged Madison to order for the dorm kitchens. It was cold and delicious and we had used champagne flutes to make things more fun and celebration-like. The bottle had shot the cork up in the air when we opened it so the champagne flutes were definitely über-exciting./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1""Oh my god!" I squealed. "That was so freaking awesome!" Cassidy laughed and Olivia agreed with me. We had all done so good even if I had only gotten 4th place on my Advanced compulsories vaulting routine. If I had signed up for intermediate like Eliza and Maize I knew for sure I would have gotten first place, but I had signed up for advanced just to challenge myself to be as good as the 8th and 9th grade girls competing against me./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1""Sequin emadored/em the show! I promised her that next time I would put pink glitter in her mane." Olivia exclaimed. I shook my head and Cassidy giggled. I wondered when our next show would be./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"As if on cue, my phone pinged and I knew it was my phone telling me that I got a text. I opened it./span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"emFrom: Mr. Davis- Hello, intermediate riding team! It's Mr. Davis here. I was alerted earlier this evening that Hallow Oaks: Center or Equine Arts, our fiercest competition, has invited us to a schooling show on their campus. Canterwood Crest Academy is going to be competing our intermediate and advanced riding teams along with our small but mighty vaulting team. I'm alerting all of you now so you may start practicing tomorrow morning. We will all have the choice of one class and I will list your options below. Best of luck!/em/span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
ol class="ol1"  
li class="li3"span class="s3"emIntermediate/Advanced Cross Country: 3"6'-4"6'/em/span/li  
li class="li3"span class="s3"emHunter/Jumper: 2"6-3"9' with oxers up to a 1"6' Spread/em/span/li  
li class="li3"span class="s3"emAdvanced Dressage: Canter and Trot classes Open/em/span/li  
li class="li3"span class="s3"emIntermediate Walk, Trot, Canter: Lead Change to Other Side/em/span/li  
/ol  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"Just then, Cassidy and Olivia's phones beeped with the same message. All of our eyes widened as we read Mr. Davis' text class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1""Holy crap!" Cried Cassidy. "Hallow Oaks is like the best riding school in the state!"/span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1""Yeah, but we'll show them. We beat them in a few classes at today's show, remember?"/span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"Olivia sat on my bed with a champagne flute in hand. She had turned a ghostly shade of white and I began to wonder if she's okay. I asked her, and she only said that she was fine and that she was afraid she would mess up and ruin CC's rep./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1""That's insane!" It was my turn to cry out a response. "You're easily the best rider in the intermediate team. I was surprised you weren't on advanced." Olivia's eyes widened even more and she smiled as her eye began to well up with tears. She was touched by my words and that made me smile even more./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1""To more victories to come!" Cassidy screeched as she held up her apple juice. Olivia and I echoed her, causing quite the ruckus. "I'll tell you what," I said to Olivia. "You and Lacy can spend the night if you want, but you should tell Lacy that we're waking up early to practice for the big show off."/span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"Olivia smiled and rushed back to her room to get her roommate. Minutes later, they showed up with sleeping bags and toiletry kits in their hands. I cranked up the Katy Perry and we sang into our hairbrushes until people started banging on our walls. We didn't care and we turned up the volume even more./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1""THIS IS THE BEST NIGHT OF MY LIFE!" Cassidy screamed over the blaring music. She was holding Lacy's hands and the were jumping around in circles screaming out lyrics when they remembered what the words were. Olivia had her hands above her head and she was dancing like I'd never seen anybody dance. Her ankles jerked every time she picked a foot up from the floor and she reminded me of a whimsical wombat trying to do the hokey-pokey./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1""I used to be addicted to the hokey-pokey," Olivia began screaming. "But then I turned myself around!" We all fell to the floor giggling and we had to turn off the music and catch our breath. Just then, we heard a knock on the door and Maddison walked in./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1""Lordie, girls. I didn't know you could get this drunk on apple juice," She said only half-joking. "But seriously. You're all going to need to keep the horrific noise down and go to bed at some point. I know you're all excited from all of the horsey business, but please try to keep it together."/span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"Madison winked and shut the door. We were all sooo lucky that Maddison was so low-key, otherwise we would all be spending tomorrow in detention rather than being productive with our time./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"We played would-you-rather quietly until we were all exhausted and experiencing a sugar-crash from all of the juice we consumed. With all four of us, we were able to take down three giant bottles which impressed me more than anything./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"We all said our good nights and tried to go to sleep, but all it would take was for one girl to sneeze and everyone would be full-out giggling again. At one point, Cassidy farted and it took us over twenty minutes to pull it together again. We're not immature weirdos, I promise. We were just looking for reasons to laugh and stay up... Plus it is fun to pretend we're all 7 again./span/p 


	17. Chapter 17- Vaulting

p class="p1"span class="s1"The morning after our first CC show of the season, I had to wake up bright and early to meet with my vaulting team to discuss a new routine to take to the Hallow Oaks schooling show. We knew we got second place the day previous because our stunts and acrobatics weren't as complex or intricate as the 1st place team. We needed to up our game. We had all taken gymnastics at one point in our lives some knew we could figure something out./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "Alright, girls," Stephanie said. "Since it's a weekend and we need to work I have a feeling that were going to be running quite a bit late today..." Eliza, Maize, and I nodded our heads. We were so ready to work!/span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "And you girls may not know, but I was a cheerleader in high school and I coach cheerleading along with vaulting in the summer. I don't know if you girls can manage a basket toss on horseback, but I do have some stuff in mind." I giggled at the basket toss thing: it was just so cliched./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" The whole team thought this would be awesome idea and we got right into the practice. First, we needed to choose a song. We all wanted something fun and quirky because we knew we needed to impress the judges. But there was a catch: we would be preforming out freestyles at the canter./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" The canter was much smoother than the trot, but it was also faster which increased the risk of the whole ordeal. This meant that we would need to practice constantly this week to get everything organized./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"span class="Apple-converted-space" /spanWe finally decided that we wanted to do our freestyle to a remix of emSomewhere over the Rainbow/em from the Wizard of Oz. It a funky and we would definitely stand out because we were planning on sticking me in a Dorothy costume while Eliza and Maize wore these sparkly red leotards with long tulle skirts to match the shoes Dorothy wore in the movie. We found all of this on a href=" "span class="s2" /span/a and we were pumped to get started on our routine./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "Oh my god, this is perfect," Eliza said. "Now let's go throw Ophelia in the air on a cantering horse!" We all giggled but I was actually kind of nervous because she was only like class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p  
p class="p2"span class="s1"Stephanie had us try a few stunts on the mat below the vaulting barrel. We were all radiating energy and only stumbled a few times. Maize was lying on her back with her knees bent and I was doing a handstand on her shoulders when I really started to feel like a circus class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p  
p class="p2"span class="s1""Good, girls. Now, Ophelia, lower your legs so you can stand on her knees and then let go of her shoulders and gently step off of her knees." I struggled to get what Stephanie was trying to say because she spoke so fast, but I got the gist and managed to lower myself off of Maize without hurting her. All three of us high-fived and we decided to get on the barrel to try some things class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p  
p class="p2"span class="s1"I was the starter again and we all decide that I would mount with a reverse skin-the-cat. Once I was on, I sat there want basically waited for someone to be inspired. After what felt like forever, Eliza jumped up and she looked like she was about to explode./span/p  
p class="p2"span class="s1""Omigod!" She cried and practically took over. "Ophelia starts out in a needle and extends into an arabesque. Then she does a round-off dismount and Maize and I mount and then—" Eliza went on forever but we had a routine. We literally practiced our routine for hours once we finalized it. It was absolutely perfect and all three of us were sooo excited to throw all that in the Hallow Oaks vaulting team's face./span/p  
p class="p2"span class="s1""This is so perfect, girls." Stephanie said. "We're sure to best Hallow Oaks if we can get this all down the canter in a week. Make sure you all get lots of sleep and keep up your grades. If any of you get anything below a "C" of the upcoming progress report, there'll be trouble and you won't be able to vault in the show."/span/p  
p class="p2"span class="s1"We all agreed to follow Stephanie's rules and do our best to keep our grades up. None of us would really have a problem; we were all straight "A" class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p  
p class="p2"span class="s1""That was so awesome," I told the girls. "I never knew you were that strong Maize!" Maize was the main support base for all of my stunts. There were one or two that required Eliza's assistance too, but Maize took most of the harder work head-on. It was so cool how we could work together to pull such awesome stuff off./span/p  
p class="p2"span class="s1"Maize, Eliza, and I went to ice cream afterwards just to cool off and reward ourselves for working so hard. It was nice to be hanging out with my friends and know that they had my back. Once you could trust someone to hold you up on a cantering horse, you can trust them with almost class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p 


	18. Chapter 18- Monday Again!

p class="p1"span class="s1"After yet another vaulting practice, I walked back to the dorm room where Cassidy sat waiting for me. She had brought me a cheese omelette for breakfast and had it waiting for me on our coffee table. I guess we weren't actually supposed to eat breakfast in our dorms, but we did it every weekday and Madison was okay with it./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" I was munching on my eggs when I checked my phone. I had about twenty alerts from Instagram and they were all comments from the picture I had posted last week. I read a few of them and typed back some responses./span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"Catrina_xxHarper: Ophelia_Aimery Awesome! Love a good summer look./span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" Ophelia_Aimery: Aw, thanks!/span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"Yumboat87: Ophelia_Aimery It's okay. You should check out my account!/span/p  
p class="p2"span class="s1"span class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" Ophelia_Aimery: I'll take that as a compliment, but I respectfully pass on that second bit :)/span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" I didn't know all the people who followed me, but I tried to respond to most of the comments I got. I loved the fact that I could post something on Instagram and share it with my family and stuff so they know what I'm up to and what I'm interested in now days. My aunts are always complaining how they never hear from me, but now they can't because they get updated on me at least once a month./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" I looked up from my phone and at Cassidy only to notice that she was already getting ready for school and I hastily began to follow her example. I wore a brown faux-leather mini skirt and a tucked in black camisole. I wore my hair up in two stylishly messy buns and rocked some black booties. I added a black choker that tied the boots and top class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" Cassidy left for English class at then same time and the first half of the day went by as normal. We had class and all of the professors gave us a butt-load of homework and I knew I would be up late tonight. I sighed as I walked down the hallway to meet up with Cassidy in the cafeteria for class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" Cassidy was already waiting for me in front of the cafeteria. When she saw me, she came over and linked arms as we walked toward the lunch line./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "Ugh. I got sooo much homework. How is your day so far?" I asked Cassidy looking stressed out. "I'm fine, but I have lots of homework too. I think it's because progress reports are coming out next week," She grinned and rolled her eyes./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" As I grabbed a lunch tray and turned my attention back to the food, I felt somebody grab around my waistline, andspan class="Apple-converted-space" /spanI turned around, ready to karate-chop the crap out of whoever it was. The first thing I saw was the mess of shaggy dark brown hair. It was class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "Oh, hi!" I said. "I didn't think it was you," He gave a half-smile (different from a smirk) and looked at me./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "Nice reflexes, though," He smirked and I cringed. "I honestly just came to see if you wanted to sit with me today. I wasn't trying to be fast or anything… I promise." And I saw it again. His genuinely soft class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" I shook my head and rolled my eyes. "Where are we sitting?" I asked looking out at the cafeteria as an employee slapped my garden salad onto my plate along with my side of grilled chicken and diet Coke./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "Just over there," Lincoln motioned over to where he Jack, and Ethan usually sat. This would make it less awkward because I rode with Ethan. I figured it would be okay to invite Cassidy, so I class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" Cassidy gave a small smile but shook her head. She said she wanted to sit with Elise, Victoria, and Juliette today. I was totally okay with that since Elise was still her friend and I definitely wanted them to be able to patch up their relationship. I invited Olivia next because it would be kind of weird if it was just me and Lincoln's friends. Olivia smiled at the invite and came to sit with me./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" I sat in between Ethan and Olivia, but I was across from Lincoln and Jack. I had a great view of where Cassidy so I gave her an encouraging smile before she asked Elise if she could sit with her. Elise looked from Cassidy to Cassidy's lunch and back again but rolled her eyes and motioned to the seat next to her./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" I tried to focus all my energy back toward the people I was sitting with. "Ophelia, are you listening?" Ethan laughed./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "Oh, yeah!" I said awkwardly. "I was just starring off into space," I smiled and turned all of my attention onto Ethan./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "I asked if you wanted to practice after our lesson today. Olivia already said yes, but I was asking if you wanted to come too. You can ask Cassidy if you want to." I gave a sheepish smile but told Ethan that I'd come practice and that I'd ask Cassidy as well./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "I can tag along and play Mr. Davis if I need to," Lincoln joked and I rolled my eyes. "Like we need a second Mr. Davis!" I threw my arms up in mock exasperation and everyone giggled. I took the opportunity to look over at Cassidy./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" Cassidy sat with her hands in her lap and her food tray across the table next to Elise. I knit my eyebrows together in confusion and realized what was happening when I saw Juliette laying into Cassidy. Cassidy had ordered pepperoni pizza for lunch that day and the trio of girls was totally shaming her for it. How could they have the nerve?!/span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" I stood up and Lincoln did too. "What's wrong?" He asked and it was made me smile for half a second before my frown came back to my face./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "Juliette, Victoria, and Elise are being emtotal /emjerks to Cassidy. I can't believe it. Elise and Cassidy were such good friends last year. I just don't get it," Lincoln's face softened and mine tensed. He told me that they weren't people with actual feelings and that they were total jerks, but that I should just leave it alone./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "I cannot just LEAVE IT ALONE!" I whisper shouted and my throat tightened up. What was happening was not okay. I looked over again and a tear escaped Cassidy's eye. That was the last straw./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" I got up and walked over to the table. Lincoln sat down because he saw I should probably go alone and Olivia looked concerned but she stayed seated too. I marched over to the table and Elise slid her salad in front of Cassidy so the untouched pizza was in front of Elise./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "Cassidy, are you okay? I'm finished with my lunch and we should go get ready for class. I know you always like to retouch your hair after lunch,"span class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" Cassidy pursed her lips and looked across the table at Juliette and Victoria before looking at me with a hopeful glint in her eyes. "No, I'm actually okay. I want to spend a little more time with these three," She said motioning to the girls around her. I was bamboozled. They had made her cry only a minute earlier!/span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" "I think they're really trying to be my friends after Elise and I drifted apart a little bit. Isn't that right?" Elise smiled sweetly and nodded at me. I rolled my eyes and walked back toward my table in a daze. Did that really just happen? How can they just criticize her for liking pizza then make her love them? Heck, pizza is probably (after cucumbers) my favorite food and I eat it at least every other week. There was nothing wrong with Cassidy's stupid pizza yet she takes their class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" I exhaled and sat down with Olivia, Lincoln, and his friends. Olivia reached out and grabbed my hand. "You tried," She said. "That's all that matters," I nodded my head and tried to believe her. I told myself that I was going to go apologize to Cassidy after riding practice and that she can totally hangout with them more if she wants. I didn't really like the idea of Cassidy getting beat on by the mean girls, but if she was happy I guess I should leave it alone./span/p  
p class="p2" /p 


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